


Legally in Red

by ma_r



Series: Legally in Red [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Legally Blonde, M/M, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-02-21 21:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13152477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ma_r/pseuds/ma_r
Summary: Arthur Pendragon has it all. He wants nothing more than to be Mr. Pendragon, husband of Sofia Side. But there is one thing stopping her from accepting his  proposal: He is not serious. Arthur rallies all of his resources and gets into Harvard, determined to win her back.A Legally Blonde AU in which Arthur is Elle Woods and Merlin is Emmett Richmond/Forrest. There is also a lot of smiles as well as an immense amount of eye-contact and dog cuddles.





	1. Dear Arthur

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by both the movie and the musical, some of the dialogue is lifted directly form the lyrics of some songs.

It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the president of the Camelot Society was waking up knowing today was the day where he finally popped the question. Sofia was the perfect woman, blonde, rich and amazing, with a great personality and she was just so popular and pretty. Finally, his fairytale romance could commence its last chapter, today was the perfect day. He felt like a manly Cinderella waking up to the night of the ball, he was ready and willing and he was going to get the princess. The last thought robbed him of the last of his sleep and he awoke.

The first thing he did, like he always did, was shower and chose the perfect outfit, with a little bit of red in it to complete it. The next step was breakfast, a green smoothie with one tablespoon of protein and he was good to go for the day. He had much to do, like getting his hair done, and looking for the perfect suit, and he had to get the ring from his mother, the old woman hadn’t yielded it but he was stubborn and desperate and he knew just what to do to convince his mother. The Puppy Eyes™️ had proved to be infallible time and time again, combined with a little groveling his mother didn’t stand a chance.

It is 6 am and he is ready to take down the world one beautiful smile at the time. Arthur Pendragon future fiancé of Sofia Side, it had a nice ring to it.  

——

 

It is 10 pm and he is ready to die, one awful sob at the time. Arthur Pendragon, ex-boyfriend of Sofia Side, God, it sounded horrible. She had broken up with him, with him Arthur Pendragon, because he was not ‘serious’. What did that even mean?

The evening had gone perfectly, he had picked her up at her house, stepped inside to say hi to her roommates, and when she had come down to the kitchen he complimented her, she looked beautiful in a gray blouse and black skirt that did wonders for her figure, her long hair flowing down her back. She looked breathtaking, and he said so, in front of her roommates, just as he knew she liked. Took her arm, on her left side, because her right was her best, opened the door of his red Porsche for her and put the music she liked as they drove. Perfect.

They arrived at the restaurant and were immediately rushed in, it was an expensive French restaurant that had a mile long waiting list, even Arthur couldn’t get a reservation, he had to ask his father to make it. Arthur Pendragon was considered a prince (and had almost the same power as one), but if Arthur was a prince, his father, Uther, was a king and everybody scrambled to obey the will of the king.  Sofia had been thrilled, she loved everything new, popular and shiny and the restaurant checked all marks. The food had been divine. The desert was coming along with another pair of glasses of champagne when Arthur had started talking. He had prepared a Speech™️.

“Sofia, baby, we both know why we're here I see it in your eyes. I guess it calms my fear to know it's not a surprise. I thought one look at you looking like a dream come true would leave me speechless like you always do.Baby give me your hand I've got some dreams to make true, I’ve got the future all planned. It's time to get serious with you.” He was just getting the little red velvet box out of his pocket (he hadn’t been able to get the ring from his mother, that old witch, but he had a backup ring.) when Sofia interrupted him.

“Arthur, since, I was two or three my life has been planned out for me, I'd get my law degree and then win my Senate seat, I would get a big white house back east, then three kids, at least,” At this she smiled at him, and squeezed his hand. “We both have dreams to make true. I know that you'll understand. You are right, it's time to get serious.” Arthur placed the ring-box on the table and watched in amusement as Sofia’s eyes widen and almost breathlessly she said. “It time for us to break up.”

“Yes, baby, it is gonna be amazing, we are gonna have…. WHAT?” Arthur screeched and tried not to choke on his own tongue when what Sofia said registered. “You are breaking up with me?” He asked when he regained his breath.  “I thought today was going to be the day you agreed to marry me.”  

“Arthur, I’m  so sorry, but I intend to be a senator by the time I turn 30, it's hard enough to do that, add to it that I am a woman and it's near impossible. The people need to see me with a more reliable husband, someone who has a real degree and its serious. I hate to do this Arthur, but I need to marry someone who’s greatest accomplishment didn’t happen inside a frat house.”

“Okay, okay, I-I think I understand, I… no Sofia please don’t do this. I love you.”

“I love you too Arthur, but I have to think of my future,”  Sofia said, she had tears in her eyes that mirrored the ones in Arthur’s. “Just please… take me home.”

Arthur took back the ring-box, paid for the food and then took Sofia home. They didn’t talk for the length of the ride, but before Sofia got out of the car she turned and looked at him. “Harvard is my future Arthur, please understand.” She gave him one last kiss on the cheek and exited his life as she had come: beautifully, leaving him wanting more of her.

He arrived at his home, Camelot Castle, and was welcomed by his brothers, the Knights and their sisters, The High Priestess, as they screamed their congratulations. There was even a banner with the words ‘Congratulation to the Happy Couple'. the Castle was equipped with everything one needed to celebrate, but then Leon, who was already shirtless and had the leftover trail of a body shot displayed on his stomach, caught a good look at their President and rapidly cut down the music.

“Arthur, what happened man?” He asked, “Did she say yes?” Arthur shook his head. “She said no?” Arthur shook his head again. “Then what man?” by this time all the party was staring at him, Gwaine and Elyan got closer to him.

“She broke up with me.”  He whispered.

“What?” Elyan spluttered, indignant.

“Didn’t even let me propose.” He explained. “She just... dumped me.” And then he started to cry.

"Party is over, everybody scram,”  Gwaine shouted, but nobody listened to him, they did take down the banner, and approached Arthur. “We are here for you buddy, what do you need?”

“I… I need carbs Gwaine, I need a pizza,” Arthur said, still crying, he hadn’t eaten one in almost five months, if there was a time he deserved to break his diet, it was this one. “I want chips and milkshake and god, I need a chocolate cake and … I need, I need THEM.”

“Arthur, THEM? Are you sure?” Leon asked, his voice worried. “Does this situation really warrant it?”

“ I WAS JUST DUMPED, BY THE WOMAN I WAS MEANT TO MARRY” he screamed “BECAUSE I AM  ‘JUST A FRAT BOY’ IF I WANT FRIED-DOUBLE-STUFFED OREOS DIPPED IN DARK CHOCOLATE I WILL GET THEM.”

“Yes, you will Arthur, come on, go to your room, we will get you everything you want,” Elyan said, glaring at Leon. “We will take care of everything, don’t you worry handsome. Just go to sleep and try to forget this awful day” But Arthur couldn’t forget.

——

“Arthur, corazón, it's Mithian”, she was knocking on Arthur’s door, the poor boy had been cooped up inside for almost two weeks.

“And Elena!”, said her companion, blonde and beautiful and exquisite in the way she shared her energy Elena was everything Mithian had ever wanted.

“Yes, and Elena,” She said, rolling her eyes “Corazón, it's been almost two weeks, we haven’t seen your beautiful face in such a long time, let's go out.”

“LEAVE ME ALONE” Came a  rough voice from inside the room.  The two woman shared a look.

“Arthur, honey, this is an intervention,” Elena screamed before kicking the door open.  Once inside they saw something that was akin to the scene of a crime. Plastic wrappers of candies and chocolates, multiple bags of takeaway and old laundry dirtied the floor. Used tissues and a dirty human dirtied the bed.

“Go away.” came a muffled voice from inside the covers. “Let me die in peace.”  Mithan and Elena shared another look.

“You know, Elena, I think it's time for a manicure and pedicure.” At this Arthur took his head out of the covers, his hair was practically standing up on his own from how dirty it was.

“I think you are right Mithian, my cuticles look like shit.”  Arthur sat down on his bed, he was shirtless but for the crumb trail leading down to his crotch, his eyes were filled with curiosity. It was the worst-kept secret in The High Priestess that Arthur loved to pamper himself in ways that were normally considered ‘feminine’ and his biggest weakness was a manicure, so if you wanted a favor, your best shot was to get him in a good mood by accompanying him to his pampering.

“Honey,” they both said, “Would you mind coming with us?”

“Let me shower,” Arthur grumbled as he stood.

They shared a smile, Elena took out her phone and dialed one of her sorority brothers.

“Elyan, sweet cheeks, he is on his way to the shower, get someone to come and clean his room, parece un cochinero,” Mithian said

“What?”

“Umm,  it looks like a pig’s house.”  Elena translated.

“Oh!, yes, of course, let me send someone, do whatever you have to do, but keep him out of the house.”

“We will” they both said  “bye sweet cheeks” Part one of The Plan to Get Arthur Pendragon Back to His Feet was complete.

He returned looking and smelling like another man, he was dressed in a really unfortunate red hoodie (IT HAD HOLES IN IT) and a pair of non-butt-flattering jeans, his hair was not brushed, but at least he was presentable.

“I’m ready.” He said. “Elena, you drive.” and threw his car keys to Elena, who couldn’t catch them. He exited his room with his shoulders slumped and dragging his feet. Mithian and Elena followed him, this was an emergency, maybe they would have to go get the Big Guns aka a hair day.  

Their usual place had a little bit of a waiting line when they arrived, and since they hadn’t made an appointment they had to wait, Arthur sighed every time he saw a petite brunette, and sometimes he got tears on his eyes. Until finally the three of them were all sitting down with their feet on the water.

“Talk to me Arthur,” said Elena once he saw Arthur involuntarily smile.  “How are you feeling?”

“Sad, hungry, mad, dramatic, lonely, forgotten,” Arthur said. “Useless, unwanted, unlovable, ugly, tired, depressed, filled with anxiety, fat, stupid, unironically like a bride left at the altar, a little bit dead, and extremely pathetic because I miss her so much.”

“That is a lot for one person to feel, corazón,” Mithan said, she placed her hand on top of Arthur’s and gave it a little squeeze.

“I know,” Arthur said. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe if you told us why she broke it off, we might be of some help.” So Arthur explained, rather dramatically,  he made the appropriate pauses so that Elena and Mithan could comment on the tale, he even included Jen, the woman doing his feet, in the conversation.

“That bitch.” was the conclusion the three women seemed to reach.

“Don’t worry Sir, I am positive that you can find someone better.” Said Jen.

“There is no one better than Sofia Side.” Arthur murmured. “But thanks.”

“Wait, Side? Why does that last name sound so familiar?”  asked Jen.

“Her family is some kind of  lawyers royalty.” Elena explained quickly, “One of them represented the guy who killed that other guy? Remember?”

“Yes, of course, this one girl was involved, right? The one with the eyes?” Mithan continued.

“I remember, yeah, but it is not because of that” Jen sat quietly for a moment, her face brightened when she remembered. “The name was on one of the articles in one of the magazines in the waiting area.”

“I must read it.” Arthur proclaimed, he was almost rising from his chair when Jen stopped him and stood up herself to get the magazine, Arthur ignored the cover and started browsing as soon as it was in his hands, and he didn’t stop until he saw a familiar face and gasped.

Bride and Broom in Law, read the  title of the note, under it was a small photograph depicting a man, who looked sickly and almost week, and a woman who was extremely familiar to Arthur, the caption identified them as  Helena Side and Degal C. Loth, the article was nothing but a puff piece announcing their engagement. What caught Arthur’s attention was just one line: ‘Loth, who graduated from Harvard on 2015, is known as a ruthless lawyer and a serious man who enjoys...’ The gears in his brain started turning, a plan started forming.

“Girls, I have a completely brilliant plan.” Arthur proclaimed as he smiled, and gestured to the photo. “Sofia wants someone like this guy, someone serious. Someone who looks  half dead! It is decided. I, Arthur Pendragon, am going to Harvard to study law. This can prove to Sofia that I am what she wants!”

\--

“Mister Pendragon, are you sure that… um...that Harvard is what you want?” Linda, the lady in career orientation asked, she was dressed in a beautiful two-piece pant-suit, but the color was atrocious with her complexion, it fought the color of her eyes, and made her lips look almost invisible.

“Well, yes. I think it would suit me perfectly.”

“Mr. Pendragon… you are majoring in sports nutrition, and want to go to Harvard Law.”

“I have a 4.0 GPA, I know I can do it.”  He smiled reassuringly at her, and it seemed to convince her.

“Well, in that case, you need to present the LSAT and get more than a 174, you also need a mind-blowing essay, as well as glowing recommendation letters.”

“Easy Peasy Linda, thank you for your time.” Cobalt blue would be a perfect color for Linda, Arthur thought as he left, maybe he would send her something in that color as thanks.

It was not easy peasy at all, he had to cut back his party hours, had to study three hours a day, as well as juggle his school work and his responsibilities to Camelot Society, there was no more Fun-Arthur, just Tired-Arthur. He even had to cut back on his exercise hours! Now he only had one hour and a half, instead of the daily two and a half. Walking Cavall, his gorgeous chocolate labrador retriever, was now part of his exercise.  He was sure that he was slowly dying. But it was all going to be worth it, for his love, for Sofia.

In his first mock exam, the result was only an 120.  He cut back more of his party hours and added half an hour more to his studying.  Leon, Gwaine, and Elyan made sure that the Castle remained quiet during this time, and got him energy drinks and healthy snacks when they saw his dark circles.

The second was a 142. He had to ask for help in managing Camelot and got a tutor. Mithan and Elena, did his hair one day and it made him feel almost alive, they also let him crash on one of their dates and he almost didn’t feel like a third-wheel.

By the 165 he was feeling a lot better, he wasn’t so depressed anymore and most of his brooding time had been consumed by his goal so he went to his parent's house to talk to them about his evendor.

Uther and Ygraine Pendragon where, in one word, powerful. But if one decided to spend more time in their description they would always allude to Uther’s strength and wit, and Ygraine’s  kindness and nobility, alone they were good, together they were great, the fact that they were both independently wealthy only made them more intimidating. Most people assumed that they were only snobbish, rude white people, and they wouldn’t be wrong, but there was much more to them.

“Love, love, love.” Her mother said when she saw him. “My sweet little baby, I missed you so much.” Then Arthur was surrounded by the familiar smell of his mother perfume and one of her powerful hugs, his mother was tiny, but all of her strength could always be felt in one of her hugs, and considering she boxed, there was a lot of it.

“I saw you last week on that charity gala, mom,” Arthur replied trying to untangle himself from his mother.

“I didn’t see you enough time, we couldn’t even talk! We need tea and those horrible oat milk cookies you are so fond of.”  Ygraine nodded to herself. “I will call George, he will have everything ready in a jiffy.”  She was already turning to go to the kitchen when Arthur interrupted her.

“Where is dad? I need to talk to both of you.”

“Terrace,”  Ygraine replied. “We should drink the tea there, the roses look beautiful today.” and with that, she disappeared with a swirl of her white shaft that for some reason she always insisted on wearing when she dressed in light pink.

Arthur walked the familiar path to reach the terrace he knew his father preferred, when he arrived he saw his father sitting in one of the white tables reading the paper and smoking.

“I thought you quit.” was Arthur’s greeting.

“I did.” Was his response.

“Dad.”

“Arthur.”

“Turn it off.”

“No.”

“I will tell mom.”

“Alright, there was no need to play dirty,”  Uther said, his voice clearly portrayed annoyance and betrayal, but he was smiling. “Tell me, son, did you see the game last night?” and so they started discussing the soccer game, while they waited for Ygraine to arrive.

Arthur really did feel extremely nervous, he was sure that his parents would support him, but there was still a tiny part of his brain that worried, he was sure his parents would try to dissuade him from trying. He really only had one reason for wanting to study law, and that was to get back the woman of his dreams, the love of his life. It was an honorable- and naive- reason, but if anyone could convince him to forget Sofia, it was his parents.

Uther continued to talk about the game, sometimes he would reach into his pockets to take out another cigarette but remember Arthur was with him and he would stop, it was almost twenty minutes later when Ygraine arrived, followed by George, who had in his hands a tray with a teapot, cups, sugar, milk, and cookies. She gestured and George arranged everything on the table, before departing.

“Now, my boys, let’s end this sports talk and discuss something more appropriate for tea.” Ygraine started pouring the tea and passing around the saucer with the milk. “Like the fact that our neighbor now has a new trophy husband.”

“Miss Catrina? Isn’t this one like her third in two years?”

“Yes Arthur, it is,” Ygraine explained. “I do not know how that woman does it.”

“Well,  pumpkin, she is an attractive- and rich, woman,” Uther explained, and when Ygraine glared at him he backtracked. “Of course, there is no one that is more beautiful than you.”

Arthur laughed. “She smells like a troll, dad, I don’t think all the money in the world would be enough to get me to spend time with her.”

“That she does honey, but I spoke to her yesterday and I think this Jonas fella is going to be the one.” Ygraine smiled and whispered into her cup “After all, he smells just like her.”

Uther started laughing.  Arthur and his parents continued to gossip long after the tea was finished.

“Now, my baby, tell me why are you really here,” Ygraine commanded. “Don’t think I did not notice how you seem to start saying something just to change the subject.”

“Yeah, you are right mom.” Arthur took a deep breath.  “I want to study law, more importantly, I want to study it in  Harvard.”

His father raised one of his eyebrows. “Why?”

“Sofia.” was all he said. Her mother scowled.

“I hate that cunning little bitch.”

“MOTHER,”  Arthur replied, indignant.

“Don’t take that tone on me young man.” she admonished, after Arthur mumbled his apologies, she continued. “She hurt you, and I always felt like she was using you. I do not like her and I am glad you are not marrying her.”

“Well, she said she was only breaking up with me because she needed someone more serious. This will prove to her that I am, and then we will finally get married!”  Arthur explained, excited by the prospect of reuniting with his love.

“I don’t know son, it does not seem like a good enough reason.”

“You could brag to Uncle Agravaine that you have a son in Harvard!”  Arthur said. Uncle Agravaine was a mean old man who loved to talk about his son that had attended Stanford, mind he had gone only for one course that he failed, but still talked about it constantly, Uther couldn’t stand him, but Ygraine loved him and babied him too much for a man his age so there was nothing the Pendragon men could do to avoid him.

“Now you are talking,” Uther said, grinning.

“I am still not convinced this is a good idea,” Ygraine replied.

“Please mom, I want to be happy and this will make me happy,” Arthur begged, and used his secret weapon: The Puppy Eyes ™️. This time his mother couldn’t resist.

“Fine. go to Harvard and have fun, but if that bitch dares to break your heart again I will call your Uncle Tristan.” It was a badly kept family secret that Uncle Tristan was a hit man for one of the many mafias , and while that made dinner awkward when the family met (he was, obviously, the black sheep of the family) Uncle Tristan was a family man through and through and would do anything his baby sister asked. (the de Bois family was unconventional and a little bit dysfunctional but they loved each other and if one ignored their obvious faults i.e one was an assassin, the other one con-man, and a corrupt politician, and the other was a ruthless media mogul who got bored too easily, you could only see people who cared deeply for others.)

“Yes mother, thank you.” Arthur stood up and kissed the cheek his mother offered, hugged his father. “I need to go back to The Castle, thanks for the tea.”  He walked all the way to the front door alone, and then George suddenly appeared before him.

“Let me get the door for you, Sir.” Arthur nodded his thanks and left his parents house.

The final mock exam was 150, he could almost taste the Massachusetts air. He also stalked Sofia in all of her social media, and it was more painful than he could imagine seeing her look so happy. He was also terribly aware that he was running out of time and getting less free time every day, his mind was consumed by his goal. Then later after he had sat for his exams, after what felt like forever he got his results.

179.


	2. Welcome To Harvard

That night Arthur got drunk. The drunkest he had ever been in his life. His hard work had paid off. He had the passing grades. He had done something that, at times, felt impossible: pass the LSAT with a score of more than 174. After the test, everything felt so easy. The essay practically wrote itself and the recommendations letters were a breeze to come by  (after all being the president of a famous sorority definitely had its perks). So yes, Arthur did get drunk out of his mind when the acceptance letter arrived and didn't regret anything he had done that night. Not even the 2 unanswered calls and 22 texts he had sent to Sofia. Not. At. All. It didn't matter what Gwaine said he totally didn't.

After the party, the countdown started: 189 days.

His parents were proud of him and his Uncle Agravaine, mumbled with envy every time he saw him. It was perfect. Uther started taking him more often to his golf games as well as the billiards where he made his best business deals. Lying to the face of his companions that Arthur was preparing himself to succeed him in the family business.

Ygraine took him shopping for more ‘serious' clothes, and while she still didn't like Sofia, she had always done what she could to support her baby boy in all of his endeavors. So she was the one that prepared everything for him: the plane tickets, the new suits, the moving truck (he had a ton of things the he HAD to take with him), she arranged for him to stay in a flat close to the university and passed along the contact to all of her _friends_ that lived in the state of Massachusetts, and if anyone knew Ygraine Pendragon, they knew that her contacts were worth more than their weight in gold, there was a reason she had been nicknamed the Queen  of Media.

163.

It was time to choose the next president of Camelot Society, it had to be done early so that the soon-to-be president had time to prepare and really understand all of his new responsibilities. The fun part, for Arthur at least, was to choose one of the five candidates the Knights had put forward. He knew right off the bat that two of them wouldn't be chosen, they were always too drunk, to restless, they thought that all there was to leading a sorority was organizing parties. One didn't want to be in charge, but as a people pleaser he had gone along with the nomination. The ones that really had a chance where Leon and Elyan, and Arthur would _torture_ them to see who wanted it more.

142.

Leon and Elyan fought each other for the metaphorical crown. The tasks every time grosser and more difficult. Soon one of them would break and Arthur would rejoice.

138.

Elyan lost. He didn't dare clean the basement bathroom after one of The Big Parties. Leon braved it with a mask, gloves and a bottle of bleach, he came out of his battle seemingly unscratched, but he had showered for almost two hours afterward, proving that existence of emotional wounds.

106.

Leon became his shadow, and slowly but surely Arthur started giving away his responsibilities to Leon. First, it was the small things, getting the rent, paying the utilities, calling the plumber, then it rose to things like solving disputes, and making decisions in the name of the Knights (like how, when and what charity they would help this year). Later he would have to start planning events alone and in collaboration of their sisters, as well as planning and budgeting, making deals in prank wars and organizing study groups, he would have to arrange the parameter for the new recruits as well as read thru all the solicitudes, arrange interviews, and the ‘test' they had to pass, then find members that would sponsor the new members (affectionately nicknamed The Squires), finally make his final decision with the help of the Round Table (senior members who had been part of Camelot Society for at least two years) and initiate them.  But that was all going to happen latter.

98.

While he was ecstatic to know that soon he would reunite with his love, Arthur still had to graduate, so he concentrated in his studies to keep up his GPA. After the LSAT it was easy to study for something that actually interested him.

67.

Sofia called him drunk one night, she told him she missed him. Arthur felt hope surge thru his body, and his love flare in his heart when he heard her voice. Oh, how he missed her! He was so close and still so far away. After that, they talked sporadically, often when one of them was drunk or horny, but it was better than not talking.   

40.

Elena proposed to Mithan, who had cried (Arthur cried too, but would deny it until the end of the world). Elena had recruited Arthur's help in planning the proposal and if it wasn't for the stupid doves, everything would have gone perfectly.  Arthur became the honorary Maid of Honor to both of them. The wedding was going to be fan-tas-tic, Arthur would make sure of that.

27.

His graduation ceremony was not as grand as he had hoped, the graduation robes itched like a bitch, and the graduation hat made his head look funny, also who in the world had decided that a good color for the robes was a light orange? It was blasphemy. It made Arthur's completion look pale and sickly, it also made his hair look darker and worse: no shoe Arthur owned looked good with them.

10.

It was a well-known fact that the last party of the year that  Camelot Society organized was

The Place To Be. It was always thrown as a last hurrah for the members graduating, but especially as a farewell to their president, it was during this party that he officially gave his title to his successor, normally it was the successor who organized the party. But Leon had caught a terrible cold and the responsibility had fallen onto Arthur. In other words, he organized his own farewell party since all of his friends where lazy wankers who had refused to step up and organize it themselves.

Arthur grinned as he woke up the next morning, he was hungover and tired, but there was not a single moment during the night in which the party had started to die down. The only reason it had ‘ended' was that it had been moved to the High Priest House (aka The Isle of the Blessed) where, from the noise Arthur could hear from across the street, it was still going strong. Arthur counted it as a success.

That night, Gwaine, Elyan, Leon, Elena, and Mithian took him out for dinner where they stayed until the local closed, talking about their future, of their dreams and ambitions. It was an unacknowledged farewell, but a goodbye was what it was. That dinner marked the end of an era, but not the end of their friendship.

1

He said goodbye to his parents at the airport, Ygraine was crying.

"Love, love, love, please don't go."   She was crushing him in a hug. "You know deep down that she isn't worth it."

"Mom…"

"Honey, she doesn't deserve you."

"Mom…."

"Ygraine let the poor boy go," Uther said, he had tears in his eyes but the tight line of his mouth was all Arthur needed to know that his father would never shed them. "You are crushing him."

"Fine," Ygraine said curtly and released him. "Take care, call me often, don't spoil Cavall to much." The dog had already been registered and was on its way to the plane.  "Bye." She turned and left, Arthur smiled at her back, her shoulders were shaking with suppressed sobs.

"Bye mom, I love you," Arthur called out to her. Ygraine's shoulders shook harder as she practically ran to the doors.

"Son," Uther said, choked up.

"Dad," Arthur said, equally choked up.

"Call me if you need anything."  Uther placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder and squeezed.

"I will,"  he promised

"I love you, son. I am proud of you."

"Thanks, dad, I love you too." Arthur did cry, but he was sure that if he spent a second more in the presence of his father we would cave into his mother wishes and stay.

"Go, before I start to cry and you miss your flight."  Uther could read his son as well as he read business reports, he knew the exact moment Arthur started to hesitate. Uther loved his son, he wanted him to be happy and if being with, as Ygraine put it, a cunning little bitch was what he wanted it was what he was going to get.  Just as he was about to turn to join his wife in the car, Arthur evolved his father in a quick hug. Uther hugged him back and that was all the reassurance Arthur needed, he smiled and left thru the gates. The final blessing of his father never reached his ears: "Go and be happy my son."

Ten hours later Arthur was placing his bags on his new bed, and surveying with a clinical eye the horrendous decoration that adorned his new home, he would have to do something about that. But first, he had to let Cavall out of his carrier so they could both go out for a walk. It was the perfect way to get to know his new city and Cambridge had better get ready for Arthur Pendragon.

The city was beautiful, it made Arthur feel like he was walking on the realm of dreams. Cavall was excitedly smelling everything around him practically tugging on his leash.

"Slow down boy," Arthur told him. Cavall barked at him and ignored him. This continued for a few blocks until Cavall finally seemed to find a spot he wanted to rest. It was in front of a tiny coffee shop, with a thousand of pamphlets of bands promoting their soon-to-be gigs. It looked colorful and interesting, there was also the bonus that they accepted pets inside.  "What do you think Cavall? Shall we go in?" The dog, thankfully, did not answer. "Might as well."

The inside was just as picturesque as the outside, with tons of band's memorabilia adorning the walls, a familiar tune playing on the speakers, there was a moderate amount of people sitting on tables, some of them where on bean-bag chairs that looked highly uncomfortable. Still, the atmosphere was welcoming, and the smells delicious, so Arthur followed his nose all the way to the line behind the cashier and he mentally swears that if the coffee is good, he would live in this place.

Behind the cashier, there is an older man, with eyebags long enough to reach the middle of his cheeks, his hair is a dark brown that looks black, he is dressed… interestingly… with clothes that don't fit and patterns that clash, Arthur can't look away from the disaster that is his shirt and does not notice he is in the front of the line until the man speaks.

"Welcome Sir, what can I get you?" and then the man smiles and suddenly the clothes he is wearing don't matter his smile outshines them all. It also has the added bonus that it makes him change from handsome to beautiful. Arthur is momentarily struck speechless, then the man's eyes turn downwards and suddenly he exclaims "WHAT A GOOD BOY!" Confused, Arthur follows the man's gaze until he remembers that Cavall is with him. The man steps out form the cashier and goes into his knees and stares and stares at Cavall. "Is he working?" He asks.

"No, not at the moment" Arthur smiles, it is not often someone knows to ask if Cavall is working or not, sometimes even when he is wearing his vest people would come and pet him. It drove Arthur mad.

"Can I pet him then?" The man asks, he is practically shaking with excitement, Cavall is the same, his tale is shaking, waiting. For a moment they both look the same.

"Go ahead." The man _charges_ and starts baby talking to Cavall. Arthur watches on, amused until someone clears their throat. Looking up, Arthur sees an elderly man with his eyebrow arched.

"Merlin." He says. Arthur is confused again until the black-haired man stands up. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Sorry." He absentmindedly pets (a completely in love) Cavall in the head, "Sorry Sir, your puppy is so cute, whatever you are having today is on the house."

"You are giving me free stuff thanks to Cavall?" Arthur smiles. "I knew I had a good feeling about this place. Could you please give me a black coffee and whatever pastry is the freshest please?"

The man- Merlin- stands up and goes back to his original place, where, after washing his hands, he proceeds to prepare Arthur's order.

"Cavall is an unusual name," Merlin says as he hands Arthur a blueberry muffin.

"Believe me, in my family it fits perfectly," Arthur says a little bit shy. "My mom's name is Ygraine, my dad's  Uther and I am Arthur." he shrugs. "When I first got him I thought it would be funny. Almost no one  gets the reference."

"Trust me, Arthur," Merlin says "I get it."  They both share a smile and then Cavall barks. Brought back to earth, Arthur asks:

"Can I eat here? Or…"

"No, its okay, you can eat inside, we allow all dogs, just clean after him and if he starts making to much noise or disturbing the customers I will have to ask you to leave."  Arthur nods, it seems fair.

"Thanks, Merlin." they share another smile, and then Arthur sits in one of the tables that have only one chair, Cavall immediately sits between his legs and stays there.

The coffee is good, Arthur is definitely going to be living here and Merlin seems really nice, his smile is beautiful and he looks like he would be good company. Yes, Arthur would definitely be coming back.

The next day Arthur does nothing but redecorate. The one after that, he picks one of the outfits he and his mother had bought, (black pants, a dark gray shirt, and a vivid red tie) and dresses, he spends the equivalent of years fixing his hair, he brushes his teeth twice and then he goes out to face the music: it's his first day at Harvard but more importantly it is his first time seeing Sofia since the break up and he has to look amazing, he is Ready™️.

Once he enters the campus he feels it, the pull of destiny, this is the correct place to be, the correct place to win back his love, but first, he needs to find his classroom.

It is terribly easy to get lost in a new place, Arthur notes, more importantly, he feels slightly intimidated by the old buildings and all the people that look like they know what they are doing. But he is a man on a mission and he asks the first person he sees, the man's back is turned so he touches their shoulder and asks:

"Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find Criminal Law 101 with Professor Cendred King?"

The first person he sees is, quite amazingly, Merlin. He is dressed horribly again, wearing a tweed suit that Just Does Not Fit. It is also the wrong color for him, he needs a navy blue, maybe a dark grey with fine vertical lines so that his legs would look longer. Arthur nods to himself, yes Merlin would look great in a suit that actually fits.

"Arthur?" Merlin asks, surprised, he looks down searching for Cavall when he doesn't find him he frowns. "Are you studying here? Dumb question, ignore that, you said Cendred?" Arthur nods again. "I'm going that way." Arthur smiles.

"Lead the way then."  They walk side by side until they arrive at the front of the lecture room, in the corner of his eye, Arthur sees something akin to a miracle. Sofia, in flesh, she is wearing a sweater and a pair of jeans that really makes Arthur long to see her bare legs. Her hair is down, cascading down her back, she is holding a book close to her chest. She looks breathtaking.  "I will be in in a moment." He tells Merlin, who nods and goes inside without him. Arthur takes a second to compose himself and approaches her, intentionally bumping into her.

"Sorry, sorry…" He says, pretending to be busy and not even looking up until he hears her voice as she says "Arthur?"

"Sofia?" He asks as if he had forgotten about her. "Wow, I totally did not expect to see you here." He fights hard to hide his smile as he sees her confused frown.

"What are you doing here?"  She asks, she seems kind of mad…  but that is probably all Arthur's imagination.

"I go here silly."

"Here?" Sofia asks, "Here as in Massachusetts?" she looks baffled and her honey-brown eyes are narrowing in denial.

"Here as in Harvard Law," Arthur explained. Sofia laughed… a lot.  In between giggles, she said:

" _You_? Into Harvard Law?"  she continued to laugh, drawing the attention of the people nearby. Sofia had always liked being the center of attention. A little indignant at the reaction (Arthur had expected a relieved laughter followed by a heavy make-out session and Sofia's admission of her Big Mistake, aka breaking up with him, as well as the letters ‘And they, lived happily ever after' to appear somewhere in the vicinity.) Arthur did the first thing that came to mind and pretended.

"What, like it's hard?" Sofia immediately stopped laughing. The crowd frowned but continued on their way. She opened her mouth to reply, but he stopped her. "We should totally catch up after class, see you later."  And leaving her with her mouth open Arthur entered the classroom being sure to walk confidently,  he could hear Sofia following him.

Once inside he approached Merlin, who was at the front of the classroom handing out papers.  

When Merlin saw him, he smiled at him.

"Pendragon, Arthur." He said, smiling. "I believe this is yours."  The paper that was given to him had his name and university ID on the top corner, there was a table filled with information, giving it a quick view he noticed something amiss.

"Where is the social activities calendar?"   Merlin laughed but when he saw Arthur's face he stopped.

"Oh… you are serious." From behind him, Arthur heard Sofia scoff, and then she placed herself at Arthur's side.

"As serious as he always is about how orange could never be the new red, that you should always do resistance before cardio and that planets really do play some kind of role on our lives,"

"They do you know? that's why both of us have always been a good match." Arthur was proud of the fact that he was a Libra and that Sofia was a Capricorn, (not the best match there could be but a well-balanced one.) Sofia always made fun of him for it, due to the fact that she was a skeptic, it always bothered him a little. "So… no calendar then?"

"Sorry Arthur no, maybe your girlfriend and you can look in one of the academy group pages? "

"Ex-girlfriend." Sofia barked, angry.  Arthur twitched at the reminder and took a step away from Sofia, she noticed and sighed. "Just give me the dam academic roster."

Merlin's face went carefully blank. "Name."

"Side, Sofia, with an f, not a ph."

After some time looking for the correct paper Merlin handed her the copy "Here."  Sofia immediately turned around and walked to sit next to a man that, if Arthur was completely honest, could probably crush anyone that came near him. He would also look incredibly intimidating, if not for the way his smile made his face transform into something that made it look gentle. He immediately turned and started talking to Sofia, Arthur bit back a jealous snarl, the man was big, handsome and looked incredibly charming.  "Sorry, mate didn't mean to bring up anything unpleasant."

Arthur just shook his head. "Don't worry, you didn't know." he smiled at Merlin, who immediately smiled back. Arthur walked towards one of the last available sits and his gaze turned to Sofia who was still talking to the giant man, from the corner of his eye he could see everybody getting books and laptops out, he took out the pencil and little notebook he had brought with him. He could also hear everyone else talking but he could only think about the strange pain and detachment he felt when he saw Sofia.

He was still so painfully in love with her, but now that he could see her, the feeling almost felt like a faraway dream and the way Sofia had reacted to his presence, the mocking and surprise of seeing him there, well that hurt. She had broken up with him because he ‘lacked potential' and now that he had come to prove that he could do it, that he could be serious, she had been shocked, almost as if she didn't expect him to have what was needed, to have the level of intelligence, of dedication. Well, he was going to prove her wrong and then, finally, they would be able to get married. Easy, simple.

So unaware was Arthur of his surroundings that he didn't notice when the professor entered the classroom, and this fact was only brought to his attention when the man started his lecture.

"You have all probably heard the saying ‘a lawyer is a shark', correct?" Professor Cendred King did not wait for an answer. "Ignore that. It's simplistic and dumb. Only some of you will turn shark, the rest, well the rest of you are just chum." He signaled Merlin, who approached him with a paper. The professor took a second to read and then continued talking with his deep voice "Mr. Schultz, hypothetical question. Would you be willing to defend the following banker accused of fraud? An old grandma took all her saving and sent them to your client. Your client promised to invest them but he spent it, on prostitutes, heroin and porn."

A small man with acne scars on his face and nervous hands answered. "No, how could I do that?" Arthur himself considered the question and decided that no, he wouldn't take that case either, poor grandma.

Professor Cendred chasted. "Wrong. This one is an easy win. You put the grandma on the stand and call her old and crazy, she will get hack from legal aid. Your client goes free and he can get you high and laid."  Shiltuz bowed into himself and looked away from the intense stare of the teacher. "Now, Ms…" at this Merlin put the paper in front of Cendred's eyes again, and Arthur realized it was a list of names. "Ms. Hupes" A tall woman dressed in plaid met the eyes of the professor. "Hypothetical question, would you be the right lawyer for the following client?: Your client is a famous hitman of the mafia elite, and they are offering you quite a sum of money for defending him. You see he missed his chosen prey, killed a nun and drove away."

Hupes smiled and sarcastically said: "What, you think I wouldn't defend him just because he's a typical man?" drawing out small giggles out of all the women in the room. This one Arthur would take, easy.

Cendred scoffed. "Oh, you lesbians always think you're so tough." Arthur winced at the comment.  He had once thought such comments to be completely innocent, but thanks to Elena and Mithian's influence he knew how wrong he was.

Hupes stood up and sputtered, indignant: "What?"  

"Oh dear, I fear my comment has offended," Cendred said mockingly. It was there and there that Arthur decided that he disliked the man. "But it's hard to argue when you are too mad to speak. You are an easy target, you see your emotions make you weak." He turned towards his desk and handed the papers he had picked up to Merlin, who then distributed them among the class, during this time everybody stayed silent.  "So what's my point? I run a billion dollar law firm! And I hire four new interns every year, from this class I will select the four sharks that gain my respect, and for those selected they will have a guaranteed career. Do you follow me?"

The classroom let out a hesitant yes.

"You," Cendred said and pointed directly at Arthur, the professor had a small grin on his face. "What's your name?"

"Arthur Pendragon, Sir."

"Mr. Pendragon, would you summarize the case of State of Indiana v. Hurn that was in your reading."

"Umm.." fuck, what readings. "What reading?" He asked, pretending that the fact that he just humiliated himself in front of Sofia didn't bother him. He had wrongly assumed that the first day of class would be relaxed, just handing out the syllabus and explaining the curse, not question about a reading that he definitely did not do.

"You got…" he said only to stop. He gestured to Merlin and his paper again. "Mr. du Grael."  The giant man raised his hand.  "Let's say you teach a class at Harvard Law School a position that you're justly proud about, but a boy on whom you call hasn't read the case. At. All.

Should you let it go or--."

"Of course not, I would throw him out." Arthur felt his cheek redden at the indignation. Cendred was taken aback but then smiled, amused at the answer.

"All right, then." He turned to Arthur.  "You have heard your classmate, so grab your coat, Mr. Pendragon  you've got guts but it seems like you are only chum." Arthur stood quickly and took his school bag. "If you return, be ready to learn." He could feel the eyes of his classmates following him, but he walked with his head held high, just before he exited he made eye contact with Sofia, and there was something in her eyes, something that looked like pitty and the smugness that came about when one realized they were right, it made Arthur's heart twitch in pain.

He waited outside the hall, he didn't know where else to go, seething with anger.  How could another person rejoice in humiliating another one? How could that mean old giant look so nice and noble and be such a dick? And Jesus, the humiliation of the whole thing burned all along his skin and made his stomach feel like a never-ending pit. Almost 10 minutes passed before the door opened again and Merlin appeared.

"Oh, thank goodness you are here." He said.  Arthur gave him a confused look. "I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I was totally humiliated."

"It wasn't so bad."

"Merlin, don't lie to me, nothing could ever be more horrible than what happened there."

"On my first year at that same class, on the very first day, Cendred did his traditional ‘only some are sharks' speech and turned around, looked at me directly in the eye and said ‘you are only as good as you look, go home and get clothes that don't make you look like a hobo.'" Arthur looked horrified at the prospect. "I got up, tripped on my way out and my pants tore right thru the middle."  Arthur gasped. "I was wearing my lucky smiley-faces-boxer."

"No."

"Yes."  Merlin smiled.

"No," Arthur said again, horrified and trying (and failing) to process the information.

"Yes." Arthur laughed then.

"What did you do after that?"

"I went to the store and got some new clothes, proved to him that looks aren't everything, got the internship and now I work as his T.A and have the Associate position secured in his company as soon as I win a big case. Don't worry Arthur, your law career isn't over."

"Law career? Totally not the problem. Could you-- " Arthur was interrupted when the doors opened again, and this time it was his classmates that came out of it. He spotted the giant man and approached him. "Excuse me, why did you do that?"

The man let out a confused laugh. "Do what?"

"We are sharing the same class, there was no need to make me look bad."

The man scoffed. "I didn't  make you ‘look bad' you did that to yourself." He started walking towards Arthur as he spoke. "You weren't prepared, next time opening a law book might help, but I feel like I should warn you, they don't come with pictures."

"Okay, so I better go." Said Merlin, he made an awkward gesture and practically bolted out of view.

"Aren't there some beers being chugged without you?"  Arthur got red again, the man turned and went to talk to somebody else.

"Hey,"  Sofia says, she is looking around to see if somebody is watching them.

"Oh Sofia, thank God you are here"

"Hey, Arthur, listen I'm so sorry…"

"For what?"

"I…"

"Sofia," said the giant man. "Is there anything you should tell Arthur?"

"You know him?" Arthur ask.  Sofia hesitates and before she can answer the giant man interrupts her.

"Know him? I'm her boyfriend."  Arthur's brain short circuits for a moment.

"Hahahaha, I'm sorry, what?"

"Um…. yes, Arthur, this is Percival du Grael, we meet in summer camp when I was 8 and we reconnected this year." Percival placed a possessive arm around Sofia's waist.  

"Hahahaha, what?"  Arthur could practically see a loading wheel in his head.

"I'm her boyfriend," Percival states again, rather unnecessarily.

"Excuse me," Arthur says and turns around taking his phone out of his front pocket and speed dialing Elena. She picks up at the second ring.

"HONEY!" she shouts at the phone. "Mithan come here Arthur just called me!"

"Elena, I am in the middle of a CRISIS," Arthur said. "I need to talk to you right now, I can't wait for Mithan."

"Yes corazón, you can and you will," Mithan said far away from the phone. "Just give me a minute."

Arthur gave her a minute.

"Okay, I'm here, speak."

"There is a boyfriend."

"A what now?" asked Elena.

"A boyfriend. 6'3, nice smile, intimidating, build like a giant, kind eyes."

"A man after my own heart then," Mithan said.

"Yes." Arthur confirmed, "You should see his arms Mith."

"Moving on." Elena said, clearly annoyed at the fact that as ‘the most lesbian to ever lesbian' she couldn't be part of the gossip. Mithan, who ownded a 'pansexual panda' t-shirt, mumbled her apology, "What is your plan?"

"I don't know what to do."

"Well, are you going to lose her to this, gigantic nice man? Are you going to give up so easily?" Elena asked.

"Well, what can I do?"

"Slap that bitch."  was Mithan's suggestion.

"He is like two times bigger than me. Plan B?"

"Well, if he is the lawyer-y type, maybe Sofia is bored with him, so throw a party and show her the fun she is missing."

"Not a great idea, she broke off with me for that exact reason."

"Well, corazón I don't know what to tell you then."

"You are no help, I don't know why I called you."

"Us neither. Bye Arthur" Said Elena and hung up on him.  Arthur stared at his phone a little bit shocked and hurt.  Well… that was not helpful. He was turning around so he could excuse himself so he could go cry alone in his room when he noticed that both Sofia and Percival were gone.

"Well, fuck." His heart was breaking, his friends not helping…. There was only one way, a foolproof way in which he could feel better.

* * *

 

The sing read   _Knight Fitness Open 24 hours_ and, well Arthur believed in fate. So he went in hoping for the best, after all, he knows that two hours of intense exercise is exactly what he needs to feel a little bit better and maybe a manicure, but that can come later. For now, he really needs to do something that can distract him from his thoughts.

"Hi, welcome to Knight Fitness, how can we help you today?" Says a small woman sitting behind the counter, her hair is in a ponytail and she is wearing exercise clothes, that from what Arthur can see, is the uniform of the trainers. On her left breast, her name is embroidered as well as her job ‘Gwen Smith, Trainer.'

"I want to become a member, but is it possible to see if it's a good fit?"  Arthur asked, a little bit desperate.

"Yes, we have a free one-week-trial after that if you want,  me or one of the trainers can give you the necessary paperwork and information about what it means to be a member and the perks of becoming one gets you, of course, there is also the fee and payment information, are you interested?" Gwen asked.

"Yes please."

"Perfect, if you want you can start your free trial today, we also have some trainer's free if you are also interested."  

"I would love to, thank you."

"Let me just get Lancelot for you."  she smiled at him again and disappeared behind the door that she opened with a white card.

Arthur waited for her impatiently, tapping his fingers against the counter and hoping that it wouldn't take much longer than it already had. He already felt like he spent a lot of time just finding the place.  Almost five minutes later Gwen returned and with her a tall man with an impressive amount of hair.

"Sir, this is Lancelot, he will be with you today," Gwen said, a pretty smile on her face.  "He is one of the best." At this Lancelot blushed, and shook his head and was opening his mouth to refute Gwen when she continued talking. "He will tell you that he isn't but that will be a bold-faced lie."

Arthur hid his laugh behind a cough.

"Arthur Pendragon." He said, extending his hand so that Gwen could shake it and then shaking Lancelot's. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure is all mine." Said Lancelot.

"Gwen," said Gwen. "I will leave you two alone so you can start with your work."

"Thank you, Gwen." Said, Arthur.  Lancelot watched her go, in a way that brought to mind the cliched phrase _hate to see them go, love to watch them leave_. You could practically see the cartoon hearts popping out of his eyes.  After she disappeared from view Lancelot turned to Arthur and seemed to come back to reality.

"So, in what do you want us to focus today?" He asks.

"I want a mind-blowing-almost-puking-type of session."  Arthur need to forget a little and sure it probably wasn't the most healthy coping mechanism but well it was better than the alternative of actually facing his problem, at least for the time being.

"I don't think that's healthy mate,"  Lancelot replies, Arthur scowls at the reminder. "Let's start with something simple so I know how your condition is. How about a run?"

"I don't want to run," Arthur says, and he knows he sounds like a small child but well desperate times call for desperate measures. "Please, just… I need something mind-numbing today, just today I promise that tomorrow I will be a good boy and not push myself too hard." Arthur is never not too proud to beg, it's one of his best qualities if he says so himself: Proud enough not to take any bullshit but humble enough to know a) when he is beaten and b) when he needs to ask for help. So yes, Arthur Pendragon is begging this particular stranger to help him forget a little bit about _Percival_ and the fact that his life was over because his love was with another man and really what was he supposed to do now?

"How about this, my break is in two hours but I can take it early and you can tell me why you are so sad instead of ignoring the problem hoping it will go away?"  Lancelot says, he speaks slowly in a way that makes Arthur feel a little bit calmer and well… sadder. Lancelot is right more than fury and shame, more than anything he is just so sad and heartbroken. Sofia had moved on, she had a boyfriend, she was happy and beautiful and Arthur was just a pathetic sack of a man that had pinned away after a girl that wasn't even waiting for him.  So yes, Arthur was fucking sad and maybe, just maybe, talking to this strangely comforting man would help.

"That would be great." Lancelot smiles at him and Arthur already feels a little bit better.

Later they are sitting down at a nearby restaurant that serves thinks that Arthur had never in his life considered eating but somehow seems appetizing. After ordering and a bit of an awkward moment, Lancelot turns and asks him bluntly.

"What happened, mate?" And the tale just spills out of Arthur, how Sofia had broken up with him, his long months of studying and struggling, being accepted to Harvard, being kicked out of  Cendred's class, finding out about Percival and the horrible way his heart feels, there might have been some tears during his story as well as dramatic pauses and he might have gone on a tangent when describing Sofia but it all felt so necessary to tell. And thru it all Lancelot listens, asking the right questions at the right moment, making emphatic noises and just being a great person to vent to.

When Arthur finishes telling his pathetic story, Lancelot pats his hand in the most motherly action he has seen a man do and just tells him. "I don't see why you just don't win her back."  he says "I mean if you love this woman just go get her, don't let her go Arthur."

And well it's simple really after Lancelot puts it like that. They spend another hour just talking and getting to know each other and by the time they pay for the food Arthur know he has just struck a friendship that will last more than a lifetime.

The next day goes much better, but still not good enough. The next week he fumbles in his answers, forgets to do one reading and fails an assignment. He gets kicked out of class often and pretends it doesn't humiliate him. Sofia mostly ignores him but when they talk she is sweet but distant and always leaves to fast for his liking.  A month passes and he is always tired, but he is getting used to being the punchline of a joke but he missed his home and his parents and his old life, he misses Sofia, the old Sofia who didn't look down her nose at him and laughed along with others. Thru it all Lancelot is there with his calming presence and good advice, they exercise together and drink together and just hang out together and it's all good, until the day he hears Percival and one of his friends talking close by about a party they are organizing, he knows he won't be invited but at least he can try.

"A party?" he asks as he rounds the corner and acts surprised when he sees Percival. "Oh…"  Percival rolls his eyes at him.

"Yes."

"Can I go?"

It takes a while for Percival to reply and when he does it seems like it pains him.  "Sure." He gives Arthur the address and tells him that there is a strict dress code (dinner jacket and no tie) and to be there on time with a bottle of wine. "It's a dinner party" he explains and well… a party is a party… right?

He is wearing a blue blazer paired with a white button-down shirt when he rings the doorbell of a small apartment.  A familiar stranger opens the door for him and smiles when he invites him in. There are only around fifteen people in the room all of them dressed in similar fashion as Arthur, they are all holding glasses of wine and having small private conversations in groups. Arthur recognizes all of them, but he doesn't know the name of anyone, he instantly feels awkward and out of place, like his skin is too tight for him. He doesn't relax until he sees Sofia, hand in hand with Percival talking with some people. He approaches them slowly, Percival is the first one to notice him and while he doesn't smile, but he doesn't look downright hostile either when he is finally settled in the small group conversations stills for a moment before resuming.  They are talking about a promising new candidate that is running for Senate, Arthur doesn't even know his name even less his proposals, so when asked about his opinion in one of them, there is nothing he can say. The man that asked looks at him with something akin to disgust and turns around to continue to discuss something with the lady beside him. It makes Arthur feel small. He keeps quiet and out of the conversation for at least another twenty minutes until their host invites them all to sit.

It's a big table and he sits next to one of Percival's friend, Sofia is two sits away so conversation with her is impossible.  Conversations keep happening around him and every time he feels like he could contribute to it the topic changes and its always about something he doesn't know. It is not until dessert is served that someone includes him in conversation again.

"So, Pendragon," says the woman sitting in front of him, she is clearly wasted and you can tell by the way she is sitting, all loose-limbed and relaxed.  "How the hell did _you_ get into Harvard?"  Arthur tries not to flinch. "I mean who did you bribe?" The small conversations around the tables abruptly stop and they all turn to look at Arthur, no one even tries to defend him.

"I didn't," he says, his voice small, uncertain.

"Come on Pendragon, you are amongst friends, you can tell us." someone else says. "We know there is no way you could get in on your own merits." and wow, that hurt. He looks up and catches Sofia's eyes who immediately turns so that the eye contact breaks.

"I did." He says again, trying to keep it together.

"Well I for once don't care who he bribed to get in, I want to know who he bribed so he could pass the LSAT." Another person says and Arthur shrinks into himself as many of the persons on the table agree and start questioning him.

"I didn't bribe anyone."  He repeats, but no one believes him.  They continue to ask, again and again, making digs about his lack of intelligence, about how he isn't cut out to be a lawyer, thru it all Sofia remains quiet, not denying the accusation not participating in the discussion. She avoids all eye contact and pretends she doesn't know him. Percival just looks at him with pity. This continues for some time and he tries really hard to ignore it. He excuses himself to go to the bathroom (more like to go and try to hide the tears that are seconds away from spilling) when he hears Sofia's voice.

"Leave him, alone guys. It's obvious _he_ didn't bribe anyone"  and for a moment Arthur feels better, his love is protecting him, taking care of him and it's enough and then she continues. "It was probably his daddy, he isn't smart enough to know who needs to be bribed." This causes loud laughs around the room, he thinks he hears a reproachful _‘Sofia_!', but can't be sure, not with the buzzing in his ears. Something inside Arthur breaks and suddenly there aren't tears in his eyes, nor anger and indignation in his heart. He feels empty. He returns to the table and endures almost twenty more minutes of jabs and ridicule and then he turns and speaks. "Sofia, could I speak with you in the kitchen?" Sofia shares a look with another one of the girls in the table and then stands up.  

Once in the kitchen, when he is sure the door is closed, Sofia sits on the countertop and smiles at him.

"What do you want Arthur?" she asks, her voice is kind but aloof.

"Do you think I belong here?" He says, bluntly, emotionless. Empty. She pretends she doesn't understand the question.  "You know what I mean Sofia." Angry, hurt.  "Do you think I'm smart enough to be here?"

She stares at him quietly for a moment. "No." she whispers and she is telling the truth.

"Why?"  his heart is pounding behind his ears, he is sure that he is going to be sick.

"You get kicked out of class almost every day." She says, she is stating the facts, just like a lawyer would. "You don't read before class, don't do the assignments, don't understand the simplest jargon, can't answer the simplest question even with a book in hand. I'm sorry Arthur, but I'm telling the truth."  

"Okay." He says and before he can turn around and leave she grabs his hand.

"You are smart Arthur, just not enough to be a lawyer."  And now it hurts too much as if someone was not only stabbing him but also twisting the knife and the worst part is that it makes sense. Smart enough to graduate with an honors mention in a ‘worthless' career, smart enough to be an incredible event organizer and to pass a standardized test with an almost perfect score but not smart enough to be someone worthwhile, someone, who could be respected.  She smiles at him, pity in her eyes, but not a drop of remorse. "Maybe is time you went home."  And Arthur doesn't know if he means its time for him to leave the party or for him to return to Malibu but he doesn't care. The only thing he knows is that he has to get away before he bleeds out in front of everyone.

He returns to the dining room Sofia-less and goes directly to the host and with the fakest smile one could ever see, he thanked them for the dinner and regretfully excused himself, his stomach, it was bothering him but he hoped everyone else had a pleasant evening.

He made eye contact with everyone before departing and hoped that nobody could see the blood seeping out of his metaphorical stab wound.

Just before he left he heard the first persons that had asked about the non-existent bribes, the drunk woman, mutter her disappointment that the night's entertainment was leaving.  No one followed him, not even when he hoped someone would.

He walked for what felt like ages before he found a bench in the park that seemed more inviting than anything in the world at the moment, he sat down and while staring at his hands, he started to cry the worst kind of tears: silent tears.

He didn't know how much time he spends there crying until he heard a familiar voice:

"Wow, Arthur?"  said Merlin and then when he realized he was crying he awkwardly added: "What's up...mate?" He hadn't seen Merlin much outside Cendred's class, sometimes he saw him in the Caffe but they never really talked there unless the place was empty (which had happened once or twice)

"Love," he said with no explanation. And really it was, he had followed Sofia across-country hoping that she still loved him enough to take him back and instead had had his heart broken again, he had been turned into a joke and everything was going to hell.

"What?"

"Love, I put my faith in it, I followed where it led."

"Who is Love?" Merlin asked, looking around them "Is it another dog?"  Arthur shook his head.

"Love, the emotion," Arthur said.

"Oh… Did it lead you here? To this bench?"

"To my personal circle of hell."

"I don't think I understand,"  Merlin stated, confused.

"Instead of this big reunion I  hopped and the wedding that would follow I'm here crying on this bench because I'm falling all my classes, I am considered a joke and well… I'm not smart enough to be here." At this Merlin's brow furrowed and then he raised his hands making a T with them.

"Pause pause, you are telling me you came all the way here just to follow a _girl_ ? Harvard _Law_ , was just another stop? That is one of the craziest reasons I have ever…."

Angry, lashing out. "Then why did you come?"

"Because I knew it was the best way to get out of the Roxbury slums." He snapped angrily, glaring "I'm close to getting out of them Arthur, so close I can practically taste it."

"I hope you can do it then." Arthur earnestly said, hoping that Merlin would take it as a dismissal it was. He wanted to be alone and to wallow in self-pity. Merlin's posture softened and his glare disappeared.  

"Why are you here Arthur?" He asked, he sat down next to him, drawing his bag closer to his chest.

"I already told you."

"I mean here, as in here on this bench."

"Because I'm not smart enough," Arthur said, Merlin opened his mouth to speak but Arthur interrupted him. "It's okay Merlin, I know it's true, I am not smart enough to be a lawyer."  Arthur valiantly tried to smile but his attempt failed when Merlin hugged him. The hug somehow brought back to light how horrible the night had really been, he hadn't deserved any of the things said to him, he didn't deserve to be looked down upon, it had been agonizing to be there and to take everything they had been saying with no one to defend him, with no one to disagree with them. Arthur started to cry again. Merlin's arms tightened and he whispered in his ear: "You are smart enough to conquer the world, Arthur." Arthur furrowed his head on Merlin's shoulder and wept.

Later they were sitting on the bench, the atmosphere a little bit awkward the way it always is when one cries their eyes out.

"Tell me what happened." Merlin orders and Arthur does. After he finished his tale Merlin stands up from the bench and its pacing, clearly angry. "Those stupid as hell, privileged little assholes." He says, he continues to mumble one and a million insults before turning to Arthur who has a small smile in his face, clearly amused at Merlin's antics. "How are you going to prove them wrong?" He asks.  Arthur's smile widens, a plan forming in his head.

"Are you going to help me?"  he asks tentatively.

There is no hesitation when Merlin replies: "Yes"


	3. The Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a scene on this chapter where a character threatens another of sexual assault. The scene does not get physical.

There was a plan forming on Arthur’s mind a great plan, _the_ perfect plan, a _brilliant_ plan and really, it only consisted of two simple steps:

  1. Get Cendred’s internship.
  2. Prove everybody wrong,



Of course, to get to part one of the plan he had to:

  1. Impress Cendred.



And to do that he had to:

  1. Read the material.
  2. Study the material.
  3. Breathe the material.
  4. Live the material.
  5. _Understand_ the material.



And for that he would need:

  1. The help of a man with a beautiful smile: Merlin.
  2. Time.
  3. Energy.
  4. Determination.
  5. A killer playlist.



Easy Peasy.

After the horrible dinner party and the crying-in-a-bench-like-a-lunatic part of the evening had finished, Arthur invited Merlin into his apartment where they could talk without both of them freezing outside.  

“So, are you finally going to tell me how you want me to help you?” Merlin asks just before Arthur is ambushed by 70.5 pounds of pure canine joy.  Cavall has his paws up to his chest and is licking his face with an enthusiasm that he normally reserves to bacon treats, leaving a trail of saliva all over his face.

Laughing Arthur orders “Down boy, down.”  Cavall eagerly obeys. When he finally is allowed to enter his own apartment he turns to see Merlin rubbing Cavall’s belly with enthusiasm, baby talking and singing praises to the dog who is more than content with the attention bestowed upon him. This goes on for enough time to Arthur to turn on the coffee machine.

“Coffee?” he offers as he takes off the uncomfortable blazer he had worn for the horrible party.

“I would love a cup,” Merlin says as he looks up at Arthur, still paying more attention to Cavall than him. Merlin smiles and this, combined with the fact that Cavall is the cutest dog in the universe, makes for one of the most adorable things Arthur has ever seen.  The thought makes him take a mental step back and reconsider.

Yes, Merlin is adorable, even when you take into consideration the clothes he is wearing: a black and yellow sweater that probably would look like something Michael Oher (the football player whose life had been immortalized in the film ‘The Blind Side’) would wear.  But once again, his smile had outshone his clothes.

“I will be right back, make yourself comfortable.”

“As you can see,” he says “I already have.” He smiles again and extends his arms and stops petting Cavall until the dog whines and Merlin turns his attention once again back to the most attention seeker creature in the world.

Arthur shakes his head to himself and returns to his kitchen where the coffee is just about done. After serving two cups he puts milk in a saucer and brings the sugar along with him to his dining room table. He finds Merlin in the exact position he left him, on his knees rubbing Cavall’s tummy.

“Coffee is ready.” He calls out. Merlin finally stands up but he keeps his eyes on Cavall. Dog and man lovingly gaze into each other’s eyes, both reluctant to leave each other. Arthur rolled his eyes at the display.  “Come on lovebirds, you don’t have to separate yet.” Merlin blushed a little at the comment and scratched his head.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Cavall has that effect on people.”  Arthur turned and headed to the dining room, Merlin following close by.

They sat face to face, with Cavall resting on top of both of their feet and drank coffee while they discussed Arthur’s plan. Merlin agreed quite easily to tutor him in his free time, he refused to accept any type of payment for his knowledge and time.

“I make enough money on my job Arthur, I help on the coffee shop because Gaius is my uncle and he is getting old. I don’t want your money.”  He said, and his tone warranted that he would accept no argument.

“Thank you.” Said, Arthur. They exchanged phone numbers and that same night they got to work.   The burn of the humiliation pushing Arthur to new limits, limits that he gladly would overcome once he found them.

It was hard work, he was one month behind in all of his classes, and to really show everyone he could do it, that he was smart enough, he had to ace _all_ of his classes, not just Criminal Law.  

The second month in Harvard was harder but somehow, he was happier than on his first. He knew where the good restaurants where he knew at what time it was best to take Cavall to the park. He met Lancelot on the gym (and out of it) often where he learned more of the man.  It was once when they were both walking towards the movies that Arthur learned that Lancelot’s ex-fiancé had done the unimaginable: she had broken up with him for another man, took the house and took his dog.

“Things like that always happen Arthur,” he had said when Arthur had started threatening that he would go to steal the dog back and damn the consequences. “I loved her Arthur, she had promised me the sun, it just didn't pan out, but yes I miss my dog.” Arthur also learned that Lancelot was a saint and also that he was dumb and didn’t know that Gwen liked him back. He had said: “She is so noble, Arthur, and she couldn’t be more out of my league.” Then Lancelot had sighed and refuted every single argument Arthur told him about how he and Gwen would be perfect for each other.

In his second month he also got his first perfect score in his assignment, he didn’t miss a single reading and was able to understand at least half of the information without help. For everything else he had Merlin. They did everything they could to meet at least twice a week, every week, to discuss the content discussed in class, to clarify concepts and to guide in assignments. Merlin was an amazing teacher, but he was even a better friend.  Often, after they had covered all the material for the day, they would stay on the table and talk for hours about everything and nothing, they would also, sometimes, migrate to the couch and they would play video games or they would watch ridiculous movies just for a laugh.

But the second month also brought some unpleasantries. Like the side eyes his classmates watched him with, and the glee in their eyes every time he got a question wrong, nevermind the fact that they sometimes also got the answers wrong. Mithan and Elena also had a big fight over the wedding and took two days for them to finally make up.  Sofia mostly ignored him when they were in public, but if by a strange coincidence they were alone together, she was sweet with him. His mother broke her wrist in a car accident and she had forbidden him from going to see her.

In summary, his second month in Harvard was filled with changes and all of them were good.

The third month was more of the same. The fourth month, Leon got engaged and his mother was finally able to get her cast removed.

It was during his fifth month, in one of Cendred’s lesson that he finally saw some result for his effort.

“Mr. Pendragon,” Cendred said, voice dripping with something Arthur couldn’t identify, but sent cold shivers down his spine. “After you make a Claim, what happens next?”

Arthur looked up, startled from his computer where he had been making notes. He hesitated for a moment before tentative answering: “Evidence, you need to have evidence.”

“Meaning?”  Cendred enquired.

“Meaning that you need reasonable belief that your claim should have, like, evidentiary support.”

Cendred smiled showing all his teeth and something flashed behind his eyes and before Arthur could identify what it was, he turned and asked: “And what kind of evidentiary support would this case require, Ms. Hupes?”

Oh… Arthur had been right, he had answered correctly he…. was…. wow. Arthur Pendragon answered correctly.  As soon as class let out he needed to tell Merlin who was currently at his Uncle’s coffee shop. Why today of all days did he have to be working in another place?

Arthur spent the rest of the class taking notes, his drive having multiplied tenfold when he saw some results for his efforts. When the class finally let out, he left the room grinning.

He practically ran all the way, his satchel hitting his leg. He barged into the shop practically screaming: “MERLIN” his hair was in disarray, his face flushed from the exercise, but he was grinning.

Merlin looked up from where he was ringing up the total of a customer, he smiled at Arthur and signaled him to wait for a moment. When he finished with his customer he came out of the counter and before he could even take off his apron Arthur came barrelling at him and hugged him. Merlin was startled for a moment before he hugged him back. Once they drew apart he asked: “What was that for?” he was blushing a little. Adorable.

“Cendred asked a question and I got it right!”

“No way! Congratulations!”  Merlin was grinning as well.

“It’s all thanks to you!”

“Don’t underestimate yourself, Arthur, you did the difficult part.”  Merlin beamed at him. “We should celebrate.”

“We should.”

“Pizza night?” Both said at the same time.

“Let me just finish my shift. Your place?”

“I will see you there.” They kept smiling at each other until they were interrupted by the ding the bell on the door made.  They said their goodbyes, and Arthur hurried back home so he could clean before Merlin arrived.

One hour later, Merlin arrived carrying two six-packs of beer, wearing a tattered baseball cap and a coffee-stained shirt.  He let himself in, and soon Arthur could hear Cavall’s claws hitting the floor as he ran to greet Merlin as well as Merlin blabbing about how a good boy Cavall was.

They ordered the pizza from a nearby place and enjoyed a beer while they waited. Cavall continued to be an attention seeker whining until one of them petted him.

After the pizza, there was more beer and discussion about the merits of watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier, for the fifth time.  It was nice, they were having a great time and were laughing and joking so it was a surprise when they ended up practically in each other's laps after an epic battle for the last pizza slice, they were once again staring at each other’s eyes when a sudden knock on the door drew them apart.

Arthur groaned and accepted defeat in the pizza fight and let Merlin take it, and stood so he could go see who was at the door. He had barely opened the door when Lancelot came barling in. His hands in his hair and a hurried look on his face.

“Arthur you won't believe what that… that awful woman just did.”  Arthur knew that ‘the awful woman’ was Lancelot’s ex-fiancé who had left him for a richer man, who was, in Arthur’s completely unbiased opinion, a complete step down from Lancelot.

Lancelot continued to walk into the apartment, only to stop once he saw Merlin. Cavall had abandoned his search for Merlin’s cuddles and had run to greet Lancelot, jumping him and licking everywhere he could reach until Lancelot petted him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Lancelot said. “I can go.”

“Don’t be silly. We were just watching movies. Right, Arthur?”  Merlin didn’t wait for Arthur to answer his question and continued to talk. “Besides, I want to know what this woman has done.”

Lancelot made a noise and just dropped himself into the sofa with a theatrical flair Arthur didn’t know the man possessed.  

“She won’t let me see Billy.”  Billy, Arthur knew, was one of the only reason Lancelot was still in contact with his ex-fiancé and one of the reasons he was always sad around other dogs. As a proud dog-owner, Arthur could understand the deep bond that formed between owner and pet, and before he could stop himself he proclaimed his indignation.  

“That bitch.”

“ARTHUR!” Protested Lancelot. Who was a Good Man™ and therefore never cursed. He also never disrespected his asshole of an ex-fiancé.

“Who is Billy?” asked Merlin.

Lancelot took out his phone and showed Merlin a picture of a tiny pug who had crossed eyes and a funny nose. Arthur knew that photo, Lancelot had a printed copy on his wallet and had a tendency to show it to Arthur when drunk.

“My little baby, tomorrow is his birthday you know?” Lancelot said a tinny smile on his face that quickly turned watery as he stared at the picture.  “And she won’t let me take him out to celebrate. She kept the house and most of my money and my dog and she won’t let me see him.”

Merlin repeated Arthur’s sentiment: “That bitch.”

Lancelot cry-laughed. “I don’t know what to do,” he admitted.

Merlin and Arthur shared a look.

“We are going to get your dog back,” Arthur said.

The next day, Merlin, Lancelot, and Arthur found themselves in front of a two-story house with a front yard and red windowsills. Lancelot was holding a bone-shaped cake and was nervously glancing behind his back and making eye contact with Arthur as he rang the doorbell.

Through the door, they could hear excited barking and moments later the door was opened by a petite woman whose hair was badly bleached and makeup wrongly applied. She was chewing gum and making all those annoying noises that came along with it.

“Why are you here?” She asked, her voice dripped with disdain.

“I… I… came…” Lancelot said.

“ _I… I…_ ” she mocked. “Spit it out, or get out.”

“Billy. I want to see Billy.

“Well… no.” The awful woman said. “You can’t see him.”  Then the bitch closed the door on Lancelot’s face.

Lancelot’s entire demeanor dropped and he turned back and looked at them. “Can you believe I lived with her for more than ten years?”  He sat down on the floor and once again placed his head in his hands.

Merlin tugged on Arthur’s sleeve until both of them were a few steps away from Lancelot.

“Arthur, they lived together for ten years. _Ten years_ .” There was something familiar in the way Merlin was making his statement, but it wasn’t until a lightbulb lit on top of Arthur’s head he understood what Merlin was telling him in his _‘I am the teacher.’_ voice.

“Of course!” Arthur happily hugged Merlin. “You are a genius,” he whispered in his ear, and then he quickly turned and rang the doorbell.

The awful woman jerked the door open, her glare softened once she saw that the person ringing her bell was not Lancelot.

“Miss, hello. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am part of Mr. duLac legal team. This is my partner: Mr. Emrys.” Merlin nodded in the direction of the woman.

“Lawyers?” She asked, confused, her hand went to her chest.

“I don’t think you are aware, but the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts recognizes your ten-year relationship with Mr. duLac as a Common-law marriage. This entitles him to…” Arthur blanks for a moment, and in his mind, he is quickly scanning the millions of words he had read and memorized for his classes, but he finally gets the correct jargon and continues his sentence, after what he hopes was an unnoticed pause. “equitable division of property.”

“What?” the awful woman asks.

“It means…” Arthur says, but its interrupted by Lancelot who was suddenly next to him

“I am taking the dog.” He is smiling and crushing Arthur’s shoulder where in his excitement he decided it was a good thing to grip. He whistles and a small dog comes running into his arms. He turns around looks at the woman directly in the eye and walks away with his price.

From where he is standing, Arthur can see one of the most beautiful smiles he has seen illuminating Lancelot’s face, who is currently engaged in a complex ritual of reuniting with his dog.  

He hears Merlin speaking with the woman but doesn't pay attention to him, he is too busy feeling something blooming close to his heart at the sight that Billy and Lancelot make. It's a combination of pride and confidence. With a big dose of happiness and accomplishment thrown into the mix. Lancelot's happiness is in part due to him and that, well, that feels more than amazing.

They are sitting on a park bench, the three of them with Billy still on Lancelot’s arms when the man turns and looking directly in Arthur's eyes he says: “Arthur, thank you.” and it's one of the more honestly filled things he had ever heard and seen: because in Lancelot’s eyes he can see pure happiness and heartfelt affection, he can see genuine esteem and something that looks remarkably close to relief and satisfaction.  

The feeling intensifies. And it stays there long after Merlin and Arthur leave Lancelot to celebrate Billy’s birthday.  They are walking close together and they are nearing the coffee shop in which Merlin works.

“Was that Law?” he asks. And he is aware that the question makes no sense, but he is also aware that Merlin would understand better than anyone what he is really asking.

“Yes.”

And finally, something in Arthur clicks. He now knows the real point in all the study and all-nighters, and it's not so that he can win the affections of a woman who doesn’t deserve his love. No, the point of it all is simply so that he can help someone who is in need.

“Thanks, Merlin.” He whispers, and once again, he knows Merlin understands.

Winter break passes and before he knows it, he is once again returning to Harvard, but he knows, deep down that his excuse about just wanting to get Sofia back is thinning. It isn’t until he has spent another month at Harvard that he realizes how thin it actually is.

Arthur follows a crowd that is steadily forming in front of one of the classrooms. He can see Percival and he quickly turns to avoid him. The giant man had been consistent on ignoring Arthur since that horrible dinner. When they are forced to be on the same space Percival was always polite, but even so, Arthur really didn’t want anything to do with him.  It wasn't until he hears Schultz, one of his classmates, talking about Cendred’s internship that he understands what is going on.

There is a list. A list of only four names. The list shouldn’t be out so early, Arthur was supposed to have more time. Fuck.  He is about to leave, certain that his name is not going to be on it when something catches his eye.

Its Sofia and Percival, kissing in the middle of the hallway, in a rare display of affection. He feels a sharp pain that could be considered jealousy but isn’t. Jealousy is an emotion he had grown used to feel. This, this is different. It’s envy because he knows, _he knows_ , that both of them got in.  Both of them have the internship.

He doesn't realize he had been standing there, glaring at both of them, until Merlin gets his attention by snapping his fingers in his face.

“Have you seen the list?” He asks.

“What’s the point?” he says. “I am sure I am not on it.”

“Check it.” Merlin insists. Arthur makes a face but goes to comply with Merlin’s orders.

_CRIMINAL LAW_

_INTERNSHIP AWARDS_

_Percival du Grael_

_Loreen Hupes._

_Sofia Side_

_Arthur Pendragon_

Arthur let out an excited laugh and quickly turned around, seeking Merlin. When he found him, their eyes meet and Arthur could see only pride reflected on them.  His laugh had gathered attention tough, and on his search for Merlin, he also saw the drunk girl (now sober) that once had doubted his capabilities. A pure, unaltered need to gloat arouse within him.

“Better luck next time.”  He said with false sympathies.  He walked until he was next to Merlin once more and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I need to tell my mom.”  Merlin laughed.

“You need to be there tomorrow,” Merlin said. “We can carpool.”

“You are also going to be there?”

Merlin smiled shyly.

“I’m Cendred’s co-counsel in the case.” Arthur beamed at him. “If everything goes well, I can be made Associate.”  

“You deserve it more than anyone I know.”  Merlin’s answering smile was blinding.

The case, Merlin explained before they arrived at the King’s Law office building, was a murder case. Beauty guru and exercise queen Morgana Le Fay had been found bloody and standing over her older (much much older) husband’s body. The old man had died after he was shot. All the evidence pointed to one person and her name rhymed with cabana.  The body and the supposed killer had been found by the daughter of the old man: Nimueh Ryan. They had ruled out anything related to money as a motive since Morgana was wealthy on her own. The case had grown so out of proportion thanks to the fact that Morgana claimed she hadn’t killed the old man, if she had taken a plea the case would already be over and she would have to serve three to four years in prison, but since she didn’t… well, the case only got more complicated.  A quick vanity check into Morgana’s biography and Arthur was surprised by one detail that he was anxious to share.

Cendred had started the meeting with one question: “Who thinks she is guilty?”  Arthur was surprised to see everyone but him raise their hand. “Okay, here is where you kids come in. Morgana has trouble trusting me even though I am her only chance to win.”

“I think….” He said.

“Not now.” Cendred dismissed him. “She isn’t giving me a plan, a plea nor an alibi, you kids need to go down to the Boston Women's Correctional Facility and get me something to work with.”

The four interns and a co-counselor exchanged looks before quickly making arrangements to go and see the accused. Every time Arthur was about to mention the slight advantage they had in connecting with Morgana, he was quickly silenced by the others.

The arrived at the Correctional, and after a series of signatures and body cheeks, they were allowed to meet with the Queen of Exercise: Morgana Le Fay.

The orange jumpsuit was an atrocity on her, almost at par with the horrible suit that Merlin was wearing. The color fought with the green of her eyes and it made her pale skin look even paler. The baggy shape of it also hid, what Arthur knew to be, a killer body. There were purple circles under her eyes that hinted to a restless sleep.

“Hello, Miss LeFay, I am Merlin Emrys, your Co-counsel form King’s Law. These four interns are the best Harvard has to offer. We are here so that we can well… make your legal defense.” Morgana shook Merlin’s hand and smiled at him. “We will love to discuss the case with you, look into some of your options so that we can free you as soon as possible.” Arthur took a step back and admired how professional and empathic Merlin looked and acted. He was in his element and it showed.  Both Merlin and Morgana took a sit, the interns remained standing. “Cendred briefed me on your case.”

“Well good, that will certainly make this meeting go much faster and smoother, don’t you think?” Her voice holds a trace of an accent and was deeper than it appeared on video.

“I hate to say it, Miss LeFay, but there is a… well… a significant amount of evidence against you. To free you the jury is going to need an alibi.”

“No,” Morgana said and smiled. “I am not giving you my alibi.”

“Even though with it you could potentially be freed?”

“Yes. and I will tell you right now Mr. Emrys if you put me on that stand: I will lie.”

“Oh… Miss Le Fay.” Sofia interrupted before Merlin could continue to speak. “If we can’t have your alibi, then your best option is a plea bargain.”

“And pay for a crime I didn’t commit? I don’t think so, sweetheart.”

“But you could get out in a couple of years,” Percival explained. “Instead of risking life. It sounds reasonable.”

“Reasonable to do the time my husband’s killer should do?” Morgana said, her voice sharp and filled with barbed wire. “Not really.”  From where he was standing, he could see Morgana’s eyes fill with tears. Her head dropped as she stared at her hands. When she raised her head, the tears had dried. “I need a legal team that thinks I am innocent. Get out.”

The others turned to look at each other and left. Arthur stayed even after Merlin had gestured for him to follow.

“I’m sorry,” Arthur said. “I can not even begin to imagine what you are going through. But I am here if you want to talk.”

“What makes you any different than any one of them?” She asked.

“As a Knight, it is my duty to defends the values of truth and loyalty,” Arthur said. The line was cheesy, but it was a code that all the members of the Camelot Society had to live by. It was a code that was known to all of the High Priestess who in turn always bowed to protect humility and compassion.

Morgana smiled and for the first time, Arthur could really see how beautiful she was.

“You are my brother then.”

“My sister.”  They smiled at each other. “My name is Arthur Pendragon, former president of Camelot Society. I know you are innocent Morgana and I will do everything I can to prove it but for me to do that… I need an alibi.”

Morgana smile dropped.

“I can’t. It will ruin me.” She glanced again at her hands. “If it gets out, I can lose everything.”

“I pledge to you that I won’t say anything.”

Morgana sighed and recited another of those cheesy liners the sorority believed in  “A Knight’s word is his law.”

“I swear Morgana. Please let me help you.”

She glanced around and gestured so that Arthur could come closer. “On the day that my husband was killed. I was getting… a…. I was getting a liposuction.”

Arthur blinked. That was not what he was expecting.

“Who cares about that? Morgana, if you had an operation to feel good about your body, there is nothing to be ashamed about.”

“I am not… It's just I make my money selling the idea that my body can be achieved with just exercise and diet. If it gets out… I will turn into a fraud.”

Before Arthur could respond a guard appeared and informed him that his time was up.

“Your secret is safe with me.” He smiled at her as he walked out of the visiting room. Once outside he was meet with the curious eyes of his teammates

“What happened?” Merlin asked.

“I talked to her. I got the alibi.” Arthur said and then regretted it.

“You are kidding,” Percival said. “What is it?”

“I am afraid I can’t tell you,” he said trying to walk out of the facility so that he could go somewhere else. Cavall wasn’t with him and right at the moment, he wasn’t feeling so great.

“WHAT?” Sofia said.  Arthur flinched at her scream

“I swore an oath to her,” he explained.

“Is this one of your stupid sorority things Arthur?” Sofia asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Yes, but don’t worry, she really is innocent.”  The eyes of all his teammates focused on him with an intensity that started to make his skin itch.

“If you don’t give up the alibi, we ALL lose this case,” Hupes said.

“Then that means we aren’t good lawyers.” he started scratching at his arm.

“We will talk about this latter. Let’s go report to Cendred.” Merlin said.

They split up again. This time it was only Merlin and Arthur in the car.

“Arthur, you have to tell us.”

“Merlin, I am sorry, I really can’t. I gave her my word.”

“I don’t need you to be sorry. I need you to give me the alibi.” Merlin snapped at him. It was the first time it had happened since the day they had to meet on the bench. Arthur flinched, the itching intensified. Merlin looked at him and the anger in his eyes dimmed a little.

“Having an alibi is not the only way to win this case.”  Arthur pointed out.

“But it sure helps.”

“We can free her, both of us if we work together. And we can do it the right way.”

“Damn it, Arthur I don’t care about any of that! I care about saving Morgana’s life!"

This was their first real fight, and a charged silence filled the car.

“No, you do not. You are more concerned about getting the Associate position than Morgana.” He whispered into the quiet.

“That is not true,” Merlin said and his hands tightened on the driving wheel. He kept his eyes on the road and the way he spoke through his teeth was one of the few indications of his feelings.

“But you are willing to jeopardize our client's trust and our integrity.” Arthur pointed out, getting a sick sense of satisfaction in the way Merlin flinched. The silence afterwards was again charged and was once again broken by a whisper.

“I hate it when you are right,” Merlin said.

“I understand, Merlin, I understand how important it is to you to get that position, but I also know you would hate it if you got it by the wrong means. My word means something and I know your does too.”

The silence in the car was kept until they arrived at the office building, it was there that Arthur was once again forced to defend Morgana and his word. Cendred had been livid and had screamed and screamed, but Arthur didn’t budge. It was easy this time, to deal with the looks of hatred and incomprehension because when Merlin looked at him, his eyes never had any doubt in them.

That night when Arthur got home, after he had spent some quality time with Cavall, getting rid of the left-over itching that had been left on his body, after he had showered and read more and more about Morgana’s case, after he had talked to Merlin once again to reinforce his belief that keeping the alibi a secret was a good thing, after hours of worrying: Arthur dreamt.

Of Merlin and his ridiculous outfits, of his sincere smiles and funny jabs. Of his crazy hair and beautiful laugh, of the way, he bit his lips when he was worried, of his blue blue eyes that were always so easily filled with emotions. Of his noble heart, and the way he understood the weight of a promise. Arthur hadn’t known it at the moment, but it was from that dream onwards that Merlin would become the main star that shone in the realm of his dreams.

And when he woke Arthur understood something:

Merlin, he knows, is an incredibly good person that works extra hard to achieve his dreams. He knows that Merlin has (technically) three jobs at the moment, being the T.A. of Cendred, working as a cashier in the coffee shop where they had met, as well as his job in King’s Law. He knows that Merlin is a busy man a man who had freely given some of his precious time to, what at the time, had been a crying stranger. Merlin, he knows, is intelligent and beautiful both inside and out, he is considerate and kind, he is trustworthy and he keep his promises. He knows, that Merlin is good with people and even better with animals. Incredibly patient and loyal, humble and dedicated. He knows that Merlin is prideful, and tended to prioritize the need of everyone else, that he is desperate to get out of the Roxbury slums, a place that had turned into a metaphorical weight that Merlin carried everywhere.  Merlin, he knew, was in one sentence is: perfect in his imperfections. And well, Arthur was in love with him. Worse, his dog also loved him. Fuck. Arthur was doomed.

He kept his newfound revelation to himself, maybe one day he would tell Merlin everything.

Arthur kept on working the case, and kept being asked about the alibi. The constant questioning and sometimes hostile comments were starting to chafe. So he called in sick one day and went directly to the gym, where Lancelot was waiting for him.

Arthur was doing reps and Lancelot was supposedly spotting him when he noticed that Lancelot was distracted. The reason for this distraction quickly materialized in the form of Gwen Smith, who was close by bending over as she picked something she had dropped. Something in the way she was moving struck Arthur as familiar and it took a couple of seconds for him to understand what was going on. Gwen was doing the Bend and Snap™️. Oh poor Lancelot, the poor bastard didn’t stand a chance.  

Arthur waited until Gwen had left and Lancelot stopped drooling to address the elephant in the room.

“Gwen likes you.”

“What? No, she doesn't.”

“She does. She did the Bend and Snap™️.” Lancelot looked at him and it was clear how confused he was by the statement by the funny way his nose wrinkled. “It's a pickup technique, my sorority sisters always did it and they showed it to us so that we could identify it when out for a pull.  Side note, they also showed me how to do it.”

“That is not a real thing.”

“I swear to you it is.”

“Prove it.”

Arthur face timed Elena.

“HONEY.” She screamed into the camera. She was smiling as she sat on the kitchen counter, behind her, Arthur could see Mithan cooking what appeared to be her abuelita’s famous Pollo en Mole.  “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“You owe it to this man.” Arthur pointed the camera at Lancelot.  “He likes a girl, and the girl likes him back but he is adamantly refusing to listen to me when I tell him I have proof of it.”

“What type of proof, corazón?” Asked Mithan.

“She did the Bend and Snap™️.” Arthur proclaimed.

“Oh, that girl wants to get into his pants right now,”  Elena said. Arthur turned around so he could gloat to Lancelot the fact that he was right, but once he saw him, beat red and incredibly flustered, he decided that gloating would come in poor form.

“I still think there is no such thing as the Bend and Snap™️,” Lancelot said, his voice squeaky.

“Mithan,” Elena said.

“Yes, dear?” Mithan replied.

“Should you prove him wrong?"

“I shall.”

And then Mithan did one of the most beautiful Bend and Snap™️ that Arthur had ever seen, it was top shape, if it was a competition she would have won the gold and broken every record there was to break. Form the camera, Arthur could see Elena’s predatory gaze and quickly said goodbye before he was forced to relieve The Incident of 2016. When Arthur finished with his call, he turned once again to Lancelot.

“She likes you,” he repeated. “Do something about it.”  

“I will… tomorrow.” Lancelot said. Arthur knew that if he let Lancelot think about it, he would start to doubt himself and it would take another two hundred years for him to pick up enough momentum to do something about the mutual pinning in which Lancelot and Gwen were currently engaged in.

“No. Today.” Arthur insisted and pushed Lancelot in the direction Gwen had gone.

“But we had plans.”

“A burger and a beer are plans that can be postponed, declarations of love can not. Go.” Lancelot went. Arthur stuck around just enough to see Gwen and Lancelot talking before he left the gym.

On his way home, Merlin called him.

“How are you feeling?” was Merlin’s greeting.

“Good... I am not actually sick.”

“I figured. Do you want to do something? I need to clear my head.” The word 'head' brought back the memories of Merlin’s horrendous beanies, and that brought to mind all the other burn-worthy clothes and _that_ made an idea form in Arthur’s head.

“Do you trust me?” He asked into the phone.

“Yes,” Merlin replied without hesitation, but there was a clear hint of fear in his reply.

“Then meet with me at the Tailor’s Apprentice, I will see you there in an hour.”

“Okay,” Merlin said, making the world sound like it was made of more than two syllables. “I will see you there.”  

Arthur arrived last and was greeted by a just-came-out-of-the-office Merlin. Who was wearing one of his traditional old suits, with the ugly elbow patches and un-flattering cuts and colors. He was waiting by the door of the tailor and looked so out of place compared to the other suit-wearers that came in and out of the shop.

“What are we doing here?” He asked

“Do you trust me?” Arthur asked again, avoiding the question. Merlin nodded his affirmation. “Then follow me, into the belly of the beast.” The comment was enough to make Merlin relax and smile, once inside they were greeted by a familiar face.

“Kay!” Arthur exclaimed.

“Mister Pendragon.” the man said, he was pristinely dressed and carried himself the same way Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler, did. Arthur loved the guy, with his incredibly boring way of speaking and dull personality, he was so different that it made him interesting. “What can the Tailor's Apprentice do for you today?”

“I have brought a challenge for you, my friend.”  At this moment, it was impossible for Merlin to realize what was going on, he itched towards the exit but Arthur caught him before he could escape.

“Ah, I see what you mean Mr. Pendragon. Do you wish to browse for a moment or shall we head directly to the fitting room?”

“To the fitting room if you will.”

“Very well.” Kay started walking, so Arthur followed him while dragging a gobsmacked Merlin behind him.

“Arthur, I can’t afford this!” Merlin exclaimed. That was a lie, Merlin could afford it, he just didn't like to spend things on material things.

“I know,” Arthur said, and before Merlin could protest again he said: “It's my way of saying thanks.”

“What?” Merlin asked.

“If it wasn’t for you, I would have quit law school ages ago. This is my way of thanking you, for all your help in every sense of the word.”

“I don’t think I can accept something like this.”

“Please do,” Arthur said, and used his secret weapon because he knew that this was a desperate situation, and if he didn’t do something Merlin would find the way to out-argue Arthur. So Arthur used his Puppy Eyes™️ and they were super effective.

“Fine,” Merlin said, clearly not happy with the circumstance.

“You are an incredible lawyer, even a better friend, this is just a way for you to look the part. A way to reflect your shining interior.” Arthur said and while his comment might have been confused with sarcasm, it was one of the most truthful things Arthur had said. “Let Kay do his magic and you will see what I mean.”

It took more than an hour for Kay to find the perfect suit for Merlin, the pants fit for one, and it was enough so that he didn’t look like the fabric was eating him, it even made his legs look longer. The jacket fits perfectly on the shoulder, giving him a more broad-shoulder look. Months ago, Arthur had thought to himself that navy blue would be a perfect color for Merlin, and if he had ever made a bet on it, he would have won. He was also correct in another factor: Merlin really did look great in a suit that actually fitted him.

After finding the things that work for Merlin’s body, the rest of the shopping trip proved to be fruitful and by the time they left the store, Merlin was four suits richer, and Arthur a couple of pennies lighter. But it had been worth it becasue Arthur knew that Merlin had had fun.

He had enjoyed picking things he _actually_ liked, not the things he could afford. Arthur could see how Merlin had preened when he saw himself for the first time with a good suit on. _That_ boost of confidence given to Merlin by good clothes, was worth more money than even Arthur’s family had.

Merlin hugged Arthur outside of the store. “Thank you.” Merlin said. And Arthur understood. They held each other for a moment too long and Arthur could feel his heartbeat increasing. Once again the moment was interrupted, this time it was the sound of thunder. They ran for cover, and they barely made it into Merlin’s Coffee Shop before the rain started falling.

They spent the next three hours talking and drinking coffee and with every second it passed, Arthur felt himself fall a little bit more in love.

The case went to trial. The media was in frenzy, searching for an opening on the legal team so that they would report the story on what was being labeled: _The case of a new OJ Simpson._  Arthur’s friends constantly called him in want of secret details about the case, never mind the fact that there was a thing called client confidentiality and that he was strictly forbidden to talk to anyone not involved about the case.  

It was during the second day on trial, that the case took a turn from the bad to the worse.

Mordred Ford was placed on the stand, he had been wearing an extremely tight fitted shirt, and a pair of pants that had probably been built around his body. Mordred was one of those people that tried really hard to be considered sexy but fell a couple of centimeters short.

His testimony had started like all the other ones: with an oath. The first questions where easy: What is your name? How do you know the victim? Is it true that this or that happened? The questions were nothing new. Morgana seemed at ease in her place at the table. She was wearing a modest dress that made her both: seem professional and like a little kid at the same time. Her long black hair was loose and made into pretty curls that only worked to enhance the shape of her face and the green of her eyes. A clear step-up over that bile orange jumpsuit. Everything seemed to go perfectly fine until another line of questioning started.

“You were Miss LeFay’s pool boy. Correct? ” Asked one of the persecutors.

“Yes.” replied Mordred. “I was.”

“And what was the nature of your relationship?” Mordred smiled, and it was not a good smile.

“We were lovers.”  The jury gasped, those who were in attendance started murmuring to each other. Cendred turned and glared at a gobsmacked Morgana, whose mouth was open in protest.

“Order.” called the Judge. “Order.”

Slowly the commotion died down. Cendred looked back and made eye contact with the interns, he grumbled: “You are all making me look like an ass.” He then stood and asked for a ten minute recess. The judge granted it to him.

“It is just a minor setback.” said Merlin.

“Its motive, Merlin, _not a minor setback_.”

Before Arthur could hear Merlin’s response, he felt his phone vibrate. He excused himself to take the call, once outside it was easy to find a relatively private space to take it.

“Arthur!” Lancelot greeted. “You were right! Gwen was doing the Bend and Snap™️! She really does like me.”

Arthur grinned into the phone. “See, I told you! It is a clear sign that someone is flirting with you.”

“I know it just that…..” Arthur tuned out Lancelot on the phone. In front of him, he could see Mordred talking to a fairly attractive man, he could see all the smiles and touches that were associated with filtration. A crazy idea started to form in his head. A crazy idea that proved to be correct once Mordred did the Bend and Snap™️ and received a phone number in exchange for his efforts. The attractive man left, leaving Mordred behind. Interesting.

He walked in front of him, ‘accidentally’ bumping into him. He needed to do this fast before anyone knew he was interacting with a witness.

“So sorry,” he said and used his trademarked smile. The one that always worked.  Mordred smiled back at him, he could feel his eyes doing a quick glance over of his body.

“Don’t worry,” Mordred said, and his body language changed, mirroring the one he had been displaying while filtering with the attractive man.  “You didn’t harm the goods.” Arthur fake laughed and walked away.

“Lancelot I gotta go,” Arthur said, before quickly hanging up the phone.  He speeds walking all the way into the courtroom, where Morgana’s legal team was searching for a solution.  “I think Mordred is gay.”

His proclamation was met with dumbfounded eyes.

“And pray tell, how did you come to this revelation?” asked Sofia.

“He tried to flirt with me.” Morgana gasped.

“So it was his boyfriend!” She said. When the confused looks turned in her direction, she explained. “He always brought a friend over to help him all the time. They are really close. Like, really, really close. He told me it is a childhood friend, and I believed him.”

“We can’t base a defense on the fact that he might be gay!” Sofia said.

“Miss Side is right, if we are wrong it will make us look desperate and homophobic.” said Cendred.

“We are desperate.” was Hupe's reminder. They all stayed quiet for a time.

“I say we risk it.” Percival ventured. “We literally have nothing lose.”

“Let me try something,” Merlin said to Cendred, ignoring all the intern's comments. He was once again in the rapidly turning familiar professional mode. “I have an idea.”

“Do as you must.” Said Cendred. The judge quickly called the session back on. Merlin walked towards the stand, his back straight, his steps confident, his butt looking amazing in those gray pants.

“So, Mr. Ford. This alleged affair with Miss LeFay has been going on for…?” Merlin started.

“Two years.” was the response.

“Did you ever take her on a date?” Arthur then understood what Merlin was doing. He was trying to catch Mordred in a lie. After all the devil was in the details. The more Merlin could get out of Modred the easier it would be to catch him on a lie.

“Yes.

“Where?”

“To a restaurant in Boston where no one could recognize us.”

“Did you go there often?”

“No.” Modred had probably been coached by the prosecutors into keeping his answers short.

“Do you have proof that you went there with her?” That was a dangerous question. If Mordred came up with something like a photo or a momentum of the non-existent relationship, there was no way for them to prove that the affair was a lie.

“Only the love I feel in my heart.” Oh, not a dangerous question after all.

“Mr. Ford, what was your first name again?” Changing the line of questioning without a moment's notice, was useful so that the person in the stand could get confused. Arthur admired the way Merlin seemingly switched tactics in the middle of his interrogation. He was in his element, and it showed in the way he commanded the attention of the room.

“Modred.”

And then Merlin went for the kill:

“And your boyfriend’s?”

“Galahad.”

Merlin smirked. Mordred spluttered and tried to take back his answer: “I thought you said best friend. My best friend is Galahad.”

“And if I called Galahad would he tell me the same thing as you?”

Modred glared but kept quiet. The glare only served to highlight how _shortcoming_ Mordred really was.  

“Do I need to remind you that you are under oath?”  Merlin threatened.

“No.”

“Then answer the question. What would Galahad tell me then? Would he tell me that you are his boyfriend?”

“Yes, okay? Yes. Galahad is my boyfriend.”

“And for how long have you and Galahad been in a relationship?”

“Five years.”

“No further question Your Honor,” said Merlin. He then turned around and walked all the way back to his sit, where he was greeted by the smiles of Morgana's legal team. His line of questioning hadn't proved that Mordred and Morgana hadn’t been involved. But it brought to light the fact that Mordred was a liar and that anything he said could be a lie. Planting that seed of doubt in his testimony was enough so that anything he had said lost its weight.

Merlin was amazing.

Later, while they were once again at King’s Law office building, celebrating Merlin’s victory, Arthur could finally appreciate how beautiful Merlin looked after his accomplishment. His cheeks were red and it was impossible to determine if that redness had come from happiness or from the whiskey they were celebrating with. The way Merlin seemed to grow an inch every time they complimented him. The pure joy he radiated. But through it all, Merlin always gave some of the credit to Arthur and his ‘astute detective skills.’

He had been so distracted by Merlin that he didn’t notice when everybody started to leave. Merlin was the last to leave, sleepily thanking Arthur for calling him a cab. Arthur had stayed behind to arrange the day’s paperwork and had even started to sing when he realized that he wasn’t as alone as he thought. Cendred was also in the office. He was watching Arthur with clear amusement in his eyes. Leaning on the doorframe with arms crossed. There was something about his posture, his smile that made the warning bells on his head ring.

Cendred righted himself, stumbling in a clear display of drunkenness.

“How did you know he was gay?”

“What?”

“Modred. Did you sleep with him?”

“What? I… no.”

“I think you did. How else could you explain that it was _you_ that cracked the case? It's impossible. A little slut like you.” Arthur took a step back and glanced around searching for a way out. This must be a joke. “I know your type. You always sleep your way to the top, and if that fails you bribe your way.”  

“I don’t do that.”  

Cendred scoffed and walked into the room, closing the door and turning the lock.  “I am waiting you know.” At Arthur’s confused and panicked look, he continued. “I gave you the internship and you don’t even have the decency to suck my cock.”  

“I.. I….” His brain short-circuited, he couldn’t understand what was going on.  

“Come on, get on your knees, use that pretty mouth of your to give me what you owe me.”

“No. I don’t do that.” He replied. He had enough brain power to understand that something was going in a terribly wrong direction. The same type of wrong that horrible dinner had gone. Only much worse.

“What is the point of you then.” Cendred slurred. “You won’t suck my cock, you won’t give me more money. I know you are smart enough to sleep your way to the top.” Cendred was coming nearer. Arthur was panicking even more and started to circle the desk that served as the only barrier between him and Cendred. He didn’t know what to do. How to escape this horrible experience. He was about to start hyperventilating, he was….

“Hello?” Someone called out, the door rattled when they tried to open the closed door. “Is anyone here? I left my house keys. Can you let me in so that I can get them?” The voice of his savior was familiar.

“Just a moment Percival.” Called out Arthur. He ran all the way to the door.  He was flushed and sweaty with panic. He practically barreled into Percival in his haste to get out of the room. All his fight or flight instincts flooded with adrenaline. Percival caught him before he could leave.

“Are you okay?” He asked Arthur.

“We are perfectly fine Percival.” Came Cendred ’s voice from the inside of the room. Arthur tried to get away once more. He could see Percival's concern vanish behind a wall of hatred. Hatred that was thankfully not directed at him.

“I just remembered that Sofia has my keys.” He said out loud. “Can I crash in your’s Arthur?” Arthur nodded, anything just to get away.

Percival drove him all the way to Arthur's house. He was quiet during that time, occasionally shooting concerned glances at a shaking Arthur. Once they arrived at Arthur’s the silence was broken.

“Do you want me to stay? I can find a hotel to crash.”

Arthur shook his head. “It's fine. I have a guest room.” He opened the door to his house and was immediately greeted by Cavall. Who immediately read and understood Arthur’s mood and instead of jumping at him, he stayed seated, patiently waiting until Arthur dropped to his knees and hugged him. Cavall proceeded to lick his face and comfort him.

Percival walked around him and made himself at home. Arthur could see him walking into the kitchen. It wasn’t until Arthur finished shaking that he stood from his spot at the door and joined him in the kitchen.

“Thank you,” Arthur said.

Percival nodded. “I am here if you want to talk about it and also if you don't.” Arthur really didn’t want to talk about it. But he knew that holding on to something like what he had experienced always made it worse in the long run.

“Cendred only gave me the internship because he wanted me to have sex with him.” was how he started. “I don’t know what would have happened if you had not arrived. I was so scared.” He started to cry. Cavall immediately ran towards him and placed his head on his lap. Whining alongside his master’s sobs. Percival awkwardly puts a hand on his shoulder.

“What do you want to do about it?”

“What can I do? Nothing really happened. I just know that I can’t go back. I don’t deserve the internship. Sofia was right, I am not smart enough for Harvard! I do not know who I am trying to fool.”

“Sofia is wrong Arthur.” Percival suddenly said. “Cedred is wrong. All of them are. I have been listening and seeing it. I am a witness to it. You are smart and dedicated and passionate. You have a way with people that not many have. You are smart Arthur, and I hate that you think you aren’t. I can see you going to places, on your own merit, just like how you got to Harvard.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” He whispered.

“No one was surprised that it was you who got the internship, Arthur. Just… think about it.”

“I think… It was a long day Percival. I am going to sleep. The guest room is the second door on the left.” Cavall followed him to bed. Where he spent hours awake. Crying and forming one last plan. It was time for him to wake up. Harvard was a dream, a dream that was not meant for Arthur Pendragon.  It was time for him to go back home.

The next day, when he woke. Percival was gone, he had left a note in the kitchen with just a simple instruction: _Prove them wrong. The same way you proved me wrong._  He rolled up the paper and threw it out without a second thought.  He needed to exercise. He needed to distract himself.

He left his phone and wallet and just went to the gym hoping to see a familiar face.  He was in luck and Lancelot was there.

Both of them were running on the treadmill when Arthur told Lancelot of his plan to move back home. Lancelot immediately stopped running and almost fell from the treadmill before he could turn it off.

“Why?” after hearing Arthur’s explanation he frowned. “If you give up, if you let this _asshole_ dictate your future, then you are not the person I thought you were.”  Then it was Arthur’s turn to almost fall out of the treadmill. Lancelot did not curse. It was a _thing_. It also worked to make the whole ramblings and self-doubts in Arthur’s brain to stop for a second. And that second was enough for him to get angry. At Cendred who was a world-class asshole. At Sofia for making him doubt himself, at the drunk girl who had been the first one to put the seed of doubt in his head. At himself, for letting idiots and assholes almost ruin his life. He was Arthur Pendragon, and Arthur Pendragon did not let others dictate his fate.

Once he was home he took a shower. He was in the middle of  preparing himself to face Cendred once more when his phone rang. It was Morgana with the news. Good news. Terrifying news. He called Merlin afterward, and after an emotionally charged conversation in which Merlin convinced him that his place was really in law, he prepared himself for his future.

The next day he showed up to court on his electric blue suit. Hair carefully arranged until it resembled a work of art. A winning smile on place and an assessing gaze on his eyes. He knew that what was about to happen would change his life and he was dressed for it.

He smiled thinly at Cendred, completely ignored Sofia and walked through the barrier that separated spectators to members of the trail.

“Arthur, my brother you look outstanding.” Was Morgana’s praise, she then turned her eyes to Cendred, and her shark-toothed smile was intimidating. “Oh, also Mr. King, you are fired.”

Cendred surprised exclamation was quickly drowned by the shocked gasps of the interns.  

“You are in my sit.” said Arthur.

“You can’t represent Morgana! You are a law student for god sake!”

“Actually.” Merlin replied “Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling 3.03, states that a law student may represent a defendant in criminal proceedings.”

“Only if a licensed attorney to supervise, and he does not have one.”

Merlin smiled and once again, Arthur was reminded of a predator about to pounce. “Yes, he does. I am licensed.”

“You can’t do that. You work for me.”

“As of yesterday, I don’t. I will not work for someone who tries to take advantage of the interns, Professor.” _Oh_ , _Merlin_.

Cendred rose from his chair and left in a huff. Leaving the chair open for the taking so Arthur took it. For a moment he pondered the possibility that what he was doing was a complete mistake, but the reassuring way in which Morgana squeezed his hand was enough for him to calm down.

Merlin sat next to him. "Thank you, Merlin,” he whispered.

“Do you honestly think I would let you get away?”  Merlin whispered back and winked. Arthur’s heart missed a beat. Before he could say anything the Judge called for order at the court.

The trail once again started. Nimueh Ryan was called to the stand. She had been the one that had found Morgana standing over the body. She was a pretty woman with an unfortunate red lipstick and a tragic perm.

The prosecutors were the ones that started with the questioning, in which they established that Nimueh was only 25, a year younger than Morgana. That she had been showering while the murder occurred and only knew of the terrible thing that had happened after she had come down from the bathroom. In the living room, she had found Morgana standing over her father’s dead body. Morgana had been drenched in blood but without a gun on her hands, but Nimueh assured everyone that in the time it had taken her to shower, Morgana could have easily disposed of the gun. When asked about why Morgana would kill her father, she had replied with “Money, all she ever cares about is money.” It had also been proved that Morgana was part of Mr. Ryan’s last will, where she was set to inherit half of Mr. Ryan’s assets. Even half of those assets where enough for anyone to live a comfortable life without ever having the need to work again. The mounting evidence, the clear motive and the absence of an alibi where all pointing to the direction of one culprit: Morgana. And it was now Arthur’s job to prove that she was innocent.

Easy peasy.

Then it was Arthur’s turn and everything was no longer easy peasy.

“Um… Miss Ryan, did you actually witness the murder?”

“No, as I said before, I was showering.”  

“You didn’t hear the shot?” Arthur asked. He knew (from watching movies) that gunshots normally were loud. While he still lived in Camelot Castle, he could always hear Elyan singing, even while showering so he was pretty sure a gunshot would also be quite easy to hear.

“No. I was washing my hair.” Maybe not that easy then. He switched approach.

“What did you do earlier that day?”

“I got up, had breakfast, went to the gym and later I got a perm.” It wasn’t a light bulb that suddenly turned on above Arthur’s head, it was the whole damn Christmas tree.

“After which you took a shower, where you washed your hair?”

“I believe I have made it clear, that yes. I took a shower.”

“Miss Ryan, have you ever had a perm before?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“Twice a year since I was twenty.” Oh. Arthur smiled. Maybe he could do something like what Merlin had done in Mordred’s testimony. Plant the seed of doubt on Nimueh and paint her as an unreliable witness.

“One of my sorority sisters, Elana, was adamant that she wanted a perm, me and her girlfriend tried to talk her out of it, her face is not made for curls, not like yours Miss Ryan. But she wouldn’t listen. Thankfully that same day we had a wet t-shirt contest, and poor sweet Elena got soaking wet.”

“Objection.” came a voice from the prosecutor's desk. “Why is this relevant?”

“I have a point, your honor,” Arthur said quickly before it could be overruled.

“Then make it.” The Judge said, clearly tired with all the drama that came with a high-profile case.  

“Tell me, Miss Ryan, why did Elena’s curls got ruined after she entered the contest?” he asked smiling in a seemingly innocent fashion. He hoped that Nimueh saw him only at face valued, and like many others had done, underestimate him.

“Because her hair got wet.” Nimueh herself had now pointed out the fault in her story. Now was the perfect moment to drive Arthur’s point forward.

“Exactly. After all, it’s set in stone that for at least twenty-four hours after you get a perm, you shouldn’t wash your hair. Because if you do then you run the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate, is in that correct, Miss Ryan?” Bullseye.

“I…. yes.”  Nimueh started fidgeting on her sit. Arthur walked closer to her and invaded the limits of her personal space.

“And wouldn't somebody like you, who has had at least ten perms know to adhere to this rule?” He paused for a moment as realization struck him  “If you were, in fact, washing your hair, which I suspect is a lie because your curls are still perfectly intact, wouldn’t you have heard a gunshot? And if you had heard the gunshot then Miss LeFay wouldn’t have gotten the chance to get rid of the gun. Which means you should have found her with a gun in her hand to make your ‘story’ plausible. But you didn’t. Why is that Miss Ryan?”

“She is just a year older than me!” She screamed, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes. “How would you feel if your father married someone that is practically your age?”

Arthur ignored her attempts at a diversion and went for the kill. “You had time to hide the gun. Isn’t that right Miss Ryan? After you shot your father.”

“I didn't mean to shoot him.” She said, her voice had gone incredibly high pitched before it suddenly dropped, she stood up and screamed at Arthur’s face. “I thought it was _her_ walking through the door.”

The crowd started to mumble, the jury turned to stare at each other. Nimueh started to whisper “oh my god” to herself over and over again. Arthur mirrored her astonishment. He had just won a case.

The judge called for order.“Take the witness into custody where she will be charged with the murder of Mr. Ryan. In the matter of the State vs. Morgana LeFay, this case is dismissed. Miss LeFay, you are free to go.”

Morgana jumped out of her chair to hug Arthur, her excited squeals echoing around the room. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”  The rest of the team quickly ran to congratulate Arthur on his first win. Merlin’s warm smile following as he received his congratulations. Before Arthur could go to him, someone tugged on his sleeve.

“Arthur, can we talk?” Asked Sofia,  she pointed to a spot on the back of the room in which they would have a relative level of privacy.  He let Sofia lead the way. Once they were there she smiled at him. Months ago that smile would have made his heart skip many beats, right now, it just made him a little nostalgic. “I am very proud of you. I knew you could do it... Arthur you are the one for me”  Arthur scoffed.

When Morgana had called him with a proposal that she had hatched alongside Percival and Merlin, she had mentioned how of all the interns, Sofia was the one who encouraged her to change her mind. Morgana’s call had also revealed other things. Like the fact that it was Percival that had told Merlin about Cendred’s horrible behavior. That Percival and Sofia were no longer together after a huge fight over Sofia’s past behavior had broken out. That Morgana, Merlin, Hupes, and Percival had all believed in him and that it was thanks to them that he had been given one last chance to prove to himself what they had been telling him: that he was smart and more than capable of being an attorney.

“I am sorry Sofia. Not long ago I would have given anything to hear you say that, but you are no longer the one for me.” Arthur smiled at her, turned around and left. Closing one more chapter of his story.

He found Merlin waiting for him by the courtroom door, he smiled at him. “I am so very proud of you.” He said.

“It is all thanks to you,” Arthur said, reaching out to hug Merlin. Who had quit his job when he was so close to achieving his dreams.

“Nah, I just helped with your classes, everything else was pure Arthur Pendragon,” Merlin said after the hug. He was blushing.

“You did more than that. You believed in me more than anyone else.” They made eye contact. They kept staring into each other’s eyes. A familiar energy surrounding them, they were getting closer and closer, only for the moment to end when Merlin’s phone rang

“Emrys speaking.” He answered. Arthur stayed as close as he was. Not daring to move. “Yes.” Merlin stopped to listen to what the other person in the line was telling him  “I will have to think about it. Yes. I will let you know.”

“Who was it?” Asked Arthur.

“It was Harvard’s Human Resources Department,” Merlin said. “They want to offer me Cendred’s teaching position.”

“What?”

“Apparently some students let the department know that Mr. King is in the habit of accepting bribes and harassing students. They have only recently gotten proof, and since it is still early in the term they want to replace him as soon as possible since they are pressing charges. I am their first choice.”  Arthur took a moment to process what was happening and then broke into a smile, hugging Merlin once more.

“That is wonderful! There is no one who deserves it more than you! After all, if you can teach me, you can teach anyone.” Merlin laughed into the hug.  They drew apart. The familiar energy returned and before they could suffer any more interruptions, they shared a kiss that had been months in the making.  It was easy and tentative, there weren’t any seeking tongues or losing themselves to the desire of having each other. It was a kiss that had the innocence of a first kiss, and the sweetness that was born out of familiarity and trust. The kiss ended, but their smiles remained

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this... this is crazy. I finally finished. My back and wrist hurt. I am so tired but so incredibly happy that I finally finished. As of April 2018, this is the longest piece I have ever finished. I am just so happy with the end result. It took me longer than planned to finish the story but I did it. I finished.
> 
> I am not even kidding when I say I wrote the last 9,755 words in less than two days after spending almost a month stuck in a scene that Just Wouldn't Work. Extra points to those who figure out what scene it is.
> 
> Also, it took me so long because I wanted to change the way Arthur cracked the case but I couldn't figure out something I liked so I decided to stick with the original.
> 
> Fun fact most of the last names of some characters came from the surnames of authors and painters that depicted them on works of art. Others are the last names of the actors that played them on the show. Others are just the usual last names that the fandom uses. 
> 
> Also, also if you haven't yet, watch the Legally Blonde Musical. It's on youtube and honestly is such a good feel musical and the songs are catchy. Some of the jokes are a little outdated but its still so good. 
> 
> Your feedback is important and encouraged!
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](http://exolovek.tumblr.com/) or check out my [Merlin Fic's Rec Blog](https://howshitgoes.tumblr.com)


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